Joe Hill's Ashes Wanamaker ****

When the folk singers of 50 years hence happen upon the work of Otis Gibbs, they'll share a knowing smile because this bearded idealist from Indiana is the real deal: gritty, angry and concerned. Gibbs's new album is named in honour of the legendary Swedish-American left-wing activist and songwriter Joe Hill, who was executed in Utah in 1915 after a "crooked charge", as Gibbs puts it in the stirring title track. The 12 songs here are not just empty slogans; Gibbs questions himself, the world around him and the things that don't add up. Guitarist and co-producer Thomm Jutz adds instrumental colour to Gibbs's lean arrangements, and, along with Deanie Richardson on fiddle, helps make the best of songs such as Twelve Men Dead in Sago, Something Moreand When I Was Young. Yes, they are probably the wrong side of naive, but Otis Gibbs counters any scepticism with his passionate rugged honesty. See otisgibbs.com

Download tracks: Joe Hill's Ashes, Something More