Yasmin Williams – Acadia

Earlier this year, Yasmin Williams raised the hackles of the Beyhive when she criticised Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter in an op-ed for The Guardian. She accused the Texan superstar of sidelining the Black musicians she claimed to celebrate, arguing that “Beyoncé has put the Carter before the horse.” No such accusations could be levelled at Williams, whose latest album sees her backed by a revolving cast of collaborators.

Cliffwalk opens the digital edition of the album, with Williams accompanied by music scholar Dr. Dom Flemons; the clacking beats of his rhythm bones punctuating her guitar like dancing shoes on a hardwood floor. This celebratory tone continues on Hummingbird, in which Allison de Groot’s banjo and Tatiana Hargreaves' fiddle conjure up images of barn dances and flannel shirts draped over faded denim. Elsewhere, the soft vocals of indie-folk outfit Darlingside lend Virga the gentle, unbothered feel of a week spent living amongst nature: stirring with the sunrise, and sleeping under the stars.

Williams may be known for her inventive approach to the guitar – inspired as much by the spiritual blues of Elizabeth Cotten and American primitive guitarist John Fahey as it is Guitar Hero II – but it’s her egalitarian approach to collaboration that makes Acadia so alluring.

Listen to: Cliffwalk, Hummingbird, Virga