On her long-awaited debut album Caitlin Harnett finds a lush and harmonious middle ground between folk and country music. There’s a lightness to her music and voice in the vein of the carefree sound that came out of Laurel Canyon in the 1970s, with Joni Mitchell an obvious touchstone. Strings, harmonica, organ and horns enhance … Continue reading
Marlon Williams has been crazy busy in 2014 with festival appearances, supports and his own shows. Now he has put together a band, The Yarra Benders, including Dan Parsons on guitar. The full band played the Out On The Weekend festival and associated sideshows and now Williams has announced his own headline shows for Melbourne and … Continue reading
Les Thomas is a Melbourne singer-songwriter, activist and blogger who has built a name for himself as a strong supporter of alt-country music in Australia. His songs resonate with themes of social justice and a desire to awaken social conciousness. He recently released his full length album Survivor’s Tale, a record that tells the story of those … Continue reading
Sydney songwriter Lisa Caruso has today released her debut EP Take A Walk and will mark the occasion with a release show at Ginger’s on Oxford St, Darlinghurst this Sunday (Oct 26th) evening. Joining her will be Andy Golledge and Katie Whyte. Caruso has also recently released the video clip for the track ‘I Will Be’ … Continue reading
Emma Swift continues to build on the critical success of her self-titled mini album with a new live performance clip for the song ‘Woodland Street’. It possesses the same magical sway and swoon of the recorded version but with more intimacy and poignant grace in this rendition with Swift’s regular collaborator Chris Pickering. Swift has a bunch … Continue reading
Sarah Humphreys has a new album called New Moon coming out on November 14th (produced by Kasey Chambers) and today she has released the video for track ‘Take Your Time’. The song is a war cry, a statement of intent/contentment, the reality of a gigging musician and the importance of the simple joys in life. Continue reading
As the incredible list of Americana acts visiting our shores continues (courtesy of Love Police and Out On The Weekend), last night saw contrasting shades of alt-country serenade the Newtown Social Club and a room full of music and media who’s who of the Sydney Americana scene (Emma Swift, Jep & Dep, Fanny Lumsden, Bernard … Continue reading
Shotgun Betty are an indie folk/bluegrass quartet of out of Lake Worth, Florida – not a place where we hear a lot of this stuff coming from, though that doesn’t mean there isn’t a great local scene there. Shotgun Betty are currently working on a five track EP but in the meantime you can check out … Continue reading
Bernie Griffen won plenty of hearts and minds with the dark and emotive alt-country of his last album Everything So Far (2012), accompanied by his band The Grifters. Now he has replaced nearly all of them with a new line-up called The Thin Men and jumped tracks to a rockier (in its many different forms) … Continue reading
Here’s the new single from Gothenburg-based Swedish band The Don Darlings. ‘If You Can’t Be Good’ comes from their self-titled second album due out at the end of October via HepTown Records. These guys have a nice gothic Americana feel, dark and full-blooded. Continue reading
Green Mohair Suits, who always put on a great live show – from lounges to festival stages – can now add a strong debut album to their CV. Their strength lies in their uber-tight harmonies that blend in virtuosic layers, equal parts Fleet Foxes and CSN. Like local alumni Little Bastard they’ve captured the vibe … Continue reading
Press Release: One of the greatest rock and rollers of all time, the legendaryJerry Lee Lewis will be releasing his new album Rock & Roll Time on November 7 on Vanguard/Caroline Australia – his first for the label. Rock & Roll Time features a star–studded line up of guests including Keith Richards, Robbie Robertson, Ron Wood, Neil Young, Shelby Lynne, Nils Lofgren, Daniel Lanois … Continue reading
The latest instalment of Six Strings, where we focus on an Australian or New Zealand songwriter and dig into their musical psyche, opinions and memories via our Q&A. This one features Mark Lucas, a long-time stalwart of the local Sydney scene who arrived here from England at the dawn of the ’80s and went on … Continue reading
New Zealand (Lyttleton Harbour) band The Eastern, led by Adam McGrath, have a new album called The Territory out on October 31st. Here’s an excellent track from it called ‘The Stepping Razor’. They’ve toured with Steve Earle (twice), the Old Crow Medicine Show (twice) and the Lilʼ Band of Gold as well as opening for … Continue reading
One of our absolute favourite Australian singer/songwriters James Thomson has a new album called Cold Moon due out soon and today he unveiled the first taste of it with the clip for the single ‘Can’t Go Home This Way’. It finds Thomson evolving and fine-tuning his songwriting. The blues is still at the root of … Continue reading
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