A thick, distant rumble, the metallic sheen of an accordion drone and a woman singing a traditional Gaelic lament for the dead: these open Keening, the first track on the most fascinating folk-adjacent set of the summer. Wild Gods is a new project from Argyll’s Jamie Livingstone, a regular collaborator with the Scottish electronic producer Barry Can’t Swim. This release is inspired by the waulking songs of the Hebrides: communal songs traditionally sung by women as they beat and softened tweed before mechanisation transformed the industry’s rhythms.The artwork for Wild Gods: The Glorious Abysmal.With Gaelic archival recordings and melodies rooted in Celtic ceremonial music also being stirred into this bubbling brew, these eight tracks reveal the occasional, fascinating proximity between post-rock and folk-rock. After Keening, 10-minute Carlene’s Pin marries Susannah Stark’s gorgeous Gaelic vocals to clanging Bad Seeds guitars, folk fiddle, and a bassline recalling Godspeed You! Black Emperor at their most defiantly uncheery. Rest and Be Thankful, named after both a classic Scottish reel and a famous A83 viewpoint where couples are known to meet to have sex, is deliberately built up as a tender ballad, before moments of joyous folk dance strut and erupt; a shimmering interlude follows. Ortha, named after a Celtic incantation, reflects another of Livingstone’s inspirations: a transformative ayahuasca experience.The project has roots in Livingstone’s work with Vox Liminis, a Glasgow arts organisation supporting people with experience of the criminal justice system through creative projects. It adds deeper context to this being music that mines the past, while being a vehicle for healing. From the exquisite fiddling in Hilma of Klint, named after the pioneering Swedish mystic and abstract painter, to the finale, Aye Right – which brings together rippling passages of fingerpicked guitar with samples of congregational psalm singing that slide in and out like parts of a fever dream – this is mercurial music, but also heavy with regenerative power.Released 24 JulyAlso out this monthSam Carter Sings Nic Jones (Captain Records) is a love-filled live tribute to the Kent-born guitarist, fiddler and arranger, arriving with cover art recalling Jones’s 1980 folk masterpiece, Penguin Eggs. Especially lovely is Carter’s take on Jones’s arrangement of the 19th-century ballad Canadee-i-o, and the way his delivery gently recalls Jones’s no-nonsense, spirited fluency. Polish trio Tercet Imperial’s debut album Prymat (Instant Classic) is very different: an energetic, eccentric delight, reimagining traditional Polish oberek and mazurka waltz-time dances in a sound world stacked with synthesisers and eight-bit electronics. Elsewhere, Martin Carthy’s Along the Road Forever: Live at the BBC is a staggering piece of work: encompassing nearly 23 hours of music by one of English folk’s greatest pioneers, including 237 unique repertoire performances, and tons of fabulous archival material.