The Cryin’ Pedal Steel You’d be hard pressed to find an instrument so intrinsically linked to the sound of country music as the pedal steel guitar. Acoustic guitars and fiddles are ubiquitous instruments that cross a number of genres but for the pedal steel, country music is its undeniable home. Developed from the lap-played Hawaiian …
D.C CROSS ECSTATIC RACQUET No Drums Records D.C Cross is the latest chapter in the career of Darren Cross, he of Gerling fame and more recently as a solo artist and one half of the folk noir duo Jep and Dep. His solo albums have been sonically varied affairs with alt-country, folk, electronica and psychedelic …
THE LIFE OF A BIG BOSS MAMA The Australian market is becoming more of a priority for Tami Neilson, she’s was recently here in May for the Blues On Broadbeach Music Festival and now she’s set to return for the Dashville Skyline and Out On The Weekend festivals. Chris Familton gets the lowdown on all the …
1969: A Watershed Year For Americana Music Half a century ago, in a single calendar year, an avalanche of albums were released that would go on to have a lasting and monumental impact on what would become known as alt-country and more recently Americana music. Looking back at 1969 and pursuing the list of albums …
SONGS OF TRIBUTE For my Waitin’ Around to Die column in Rhythms I recently took a look at some of the outstanding releases in the field of tribute albums. Specifically those that fall under the umbrella of Americana and alt-country, whether it’s in recognition of an artist’s body of work or a fundraiser to assist them …
THE MIRROR OF TRUTH On his new album The Crossing, Alejandro Escovedo takes an unflinching and poetic look at America and the immigrant experience. By Chris Familton Alejandro Escovedo has been surrounded by music his entire life. His father played and listened to Mexican music, his mother loved big band jazz music and his rocker …
A swampy shimmer underlies acoustic guitar and the wonderful voice of Ben Mitchell as he sings of ignoring the things you can’t control in life and giving into the flow and destiny of existence. It’s a simple song musically – and I mean that in the best possible way. The elements are all there, reduced … Continue reading
Today we give you the recent single from British songwriter Lawrie Duckworth. You wouldn’t necessarily pick him as hailing from that side of the Atlantic, given the swampy blues noir vibe that emanates from this track. Dig a bit deeper though and you can hear a surf tinge and a distant nod to The Shadows. … Continue reading
Some songs float along with a weightlessness, a gentle tangle and flow that sounds elevated, lightheaded and dreamy. John Salaway‘s ‘It’s All In Your Mind’ is one of those ones. With the sound of CSN deeply embedded in its DNA, the song rides linear and rhythmic, finger-picked acoustic guitar and some evocative strings. The Beatles … Continue reading
“We are just a simple devil-lovin family that play bluegrass and folk tunes about the hills and rivers we’ve roamed, the things we’ve seen and the stories we’ve been told.” Sydney folk and bluegrass trio Shelley’s Murder Boys have recently released their brand new album Above Is A Roar and one of its standout tracks is … Continue reading
Last Chance Family Band hit the highway on their new track, a ripping roots-rock excursion that finds a boogie groove and drives it home with some great vocal harmonies. Top stuff with its blend of loose limbed, late night rock n roll and country chooglin’. The band hails from Seattle and is comprised of brothers … Continue reading
It’s been a long time coming but man it’s worth it to have this brand new single from Sydney songwriter Caitlin Harnett. ‘Make You Feel Blue’ comes from her new album, set for release in the new year. It’ll be her second full-length, the first featuring her band The Pony Boys. The single is a … Continue reading
I love the laziness of this song. The way it gently unfurls and spreads itself across the speakers. It has that jangly 90s slacker aesthetic, wrapped up in a late afternoon, sunburnt afternoon kind of country vibe. Max and the Martians hail from New Orleans and are based around songwriter Max Bien-Kahn. ‘Please Hold On’ … Continue reading
TALL TALES FOR DARK TIMES Skyscraper Stan reveals why his new album is called Golden Boy Vol. I and Vol. II and discusses the joys and frustrations that come with committing to a life in music. Stan Woodhouse has always performed under the name Skyscraper Stan, ever since staff at the Wine Cellar in Auckland, … Continue reading
Party Of The Sun have just released their new album Trekker and this song, ‘Sea Surrounds’, caught our ear with its warm and rambling psychedelic folk sound. The group hail from New Hampshire and are led by songwriter Ethan McBrien and producer/multi-instrumentalist Rory Hurley. There’s a wonderful production sound on this track as the guitars gently … Continue reading
Tyler Childers Country Squire RCA/Sony Music Tyler Childers had a breakout last 12 months with his album Purgatory catching the ear of many a critic and country/folk music fan, winning Emerging Artist Of The Year at the Americana Awards and scoring opening slots with Americana heavyweights John Prine, Margo Price and Sturgill Simpson. That album … Continue reading
Michael Waugh The Weir Compass Bros Records Michael Waugh’s last album The Asphalt & The Oval found him refining his blend of vivid Australian storytelling with impressive results. Now, just a year later, he’s picked up exactly where he left off, with another thirteen songs that use nostalgia in a rich and poetic way yet … Continue reading
Lost Ragas This Is Not A Dream Independent ★★★★½ On their their third album, Melbourne band Lost Ragas take their brand of psychedelic country music further out into the cosmos, though its title and various thematic references suggest the territory they’re exploring is our internal subconscious and its relationship with the realities of the modern … Continue reading
Fanny Lumsden, the hardest working Australian folk/pop and country singer/songwriter is back with her first new single since the release of her second album Real Class Act in 2017. ‘Peed In The Pool’ comes as she continues on her annual and epic Country Halls Tour (see poster for dates) which also took in a show-stopping … Continue reading
It’s been a long time coming but definitely worth the wait to hear the brand new single from Andy Golledge, one of Sydney’s finest songwriters and performers. ‘Run To The River’ is the first taste of his new EP Namoi, due out February 9th, 2020 on the I Oh You label. The song (written for and … Continue reading
Norway and the other Scandinavian country constantly surprise with new, heartfelt and authentic folk and Americana music. They really seem to dial into the heart and soul of the music. The latest to reach our ears is Malin Pettersen, better known as the country voice for the band Lucky Lips and an artist who has … Continue reading
