Yesterday we revealed our favourite 2018 local releases from Australia (and NZ). Today we go global with our 40 favourite albums of 2018. We were going to make it a list that excluded the local albums, seeing as we’ve already published those favourites, but as with previous years we decided we don’t want to separate …
2018 was another strong year for the local alt-country, folk, blues and Americana scene here in Australia. We’ve put together a list of our favourite local releases, plus one New Zealand album that made the list this year. We highly recommend all of these records – check them out on streaming services, buy a CD …
Take Me To Town, the 3CD, 47 track compilation of contemporary Australian alt-country music is heading to Tamworth 2019, with a very special showcase gig featuring an all-star line-up of Ben Leece & Left Of The Dial, Katie Brianna, The Weeping Willows, Hana & Jessie-Lee, Lachlan Bryan, Jen Mize and Mitch Power. If you are … Continue reading
Hayesville caught our ear with this rich and stately vocal sound. He’s a Swedish singer songwriter now based in Cologne, Germany and he counts Songs: Ohia as an influence which instantly makes him a winner in our book. It’s a classic sound that he goes for, quite baroque at times, a gothic Americana of sorts … Continue reading
Here’s a great new (to us) voice – the six-piece James Edwyn & The Borrowed Band. Elements of folk rock, soul and country collide in this song that tumbles into a fine chorus before drifting back out into more reflective verses and shades of The Felice Brothers. The Glaswegian band released their second album High … Continue reading
Idle Joy from San Francisco recently released this gem of a loose and ramshackle song that has one foot in the country and one on the beach. ‘Let’s Just Go Surf’ will charm itself into your short term memory with jangling guitars, a loping rhythm section and lazy, catchy vocal melodies. It reminds us of … Continue reading
This track caught our ears with its wonderful horns, and grand swoon of a sound. It’s the work of Sydney songwriter East Denistone and comes from his 2018 EP While You Still Draw Breath. It’s more on the indie rock tip, in the vein of The National and Grizzly Bear but it incorporate elements of … Continue reading
Here’s a beautifully melodic and melancholic song from Wildie (Sweden). It comes from their album Westbound and finds them dealing in sweet, piano-led Americana. Continue reading
Dave Ernst hails from Louisville, Kentucky and this wonderfully bruised slice of Southern country rock comes from his debut solo album Hickory Switch, produced by Peter Searcy (Squirrel Bait) and mixed by Ken Coomer (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo). You can definitely hear Uncle Tupelo, Drive-By Truckers, Lucero and the like in the sound of this song, ‘Superstar’, … Continue reading
A really nice sound from San Francisco resident Eric Long on this sparse acoustic folk track. The fiddle works beautifully, as does Long’s weathered voice that keeps the song firmly in the soil and hot sun of an American countryside, as he searches for optimism. The song comes from his 2018 LP A Long Way … Continue reading
Here’s a nice slice of slacker alt-country from Nashville, TN, courtesy of the group Dialup Ghost. It’s a tasty amalgam of The Replacements, Pavement and Silver Jews. It comes from their 2018 album I’m Fine, I’m Fine which has a nice lo-fi, ramshackle, lazy and wistful streak running through it. Continue reading
Hailing from Amarillo TX but now Nashville-based, Jacob McCoy excels at cutting to the emotional core of his songs with concise lyrical elements, lilting guitar phrasing, heavenly pedal steel and piano, and a voice that balances grit and sweetness. ‘Rear View Mirror’ comes from his 2018 LP Questions. Continue reading
“I’m going to quit, just not today.” Great sounds from Mr Samuel Herb, a 25 year old singer/songwriter who originally hails from Jacksonville, FL. ‘Someone Else’s Dream’ fuses a swingin’ honky tonk with soul vamps and a killer New Orleans trumpet sound to wonderful effect. We look forward to hearing where Herb goes next with … Continue reading
ACROSS THE DITCH In musical terms, and to Australia audiences, New Zealand may be best known for its indie exports (based around the Flying Nun label), the various pop shapes of Neil Finn and associates and heavier acts such as Shihad. Yet there is, and always has been, a fertile country & folk scene throughout … Continue reading
TALES FROM TWO CITIES Jo Meares reveals the complicated process of recording his new album and how he learnt to embrace his own voice. By Chris Familton Over a series of albums, Jo Meares has slowly whittled away at his craft of songwriting and the delicate placement of those songs on atmospheric musical canvases. Dark … Continue reading
COWGIRL IN THE SAND, VOL. II (2018) Back in 2014 we put together a mixtape featuring many of our favourite female singers and songwriters. We had great feedback about it and so in this day and age of Spotify playlists we thought it’d be a great idea to put together a second volume, this time … Continue reading
Savannah Conley has been getting a bit of attention of late, with her torch-song country soul sound. She’s got one of those voices that dances on melodies while searching the bottom of a whisky glass. ‘Same Old Eyes’, from her EP Twenty-Twenty, rides on a slow and lonely backbeat and shimmering guitars. Lovely stuff. If … Continue reading
