Mark Lucas normally fronts the Dead Setters but here he steps out on his own with a collection of intimate and restrained songs. Lucas has decorated his compositions with fiddle, banjo, piano and even tuba without ever distracting from the personal and sometimes socio-political content of his lyrics. ‘Stranger’ possesses a beautiful, lilting melody, ‘Small Town’ is a wonderfully restrained folk song and the single ‘Please Tell the DJ’ is a ‘last drinks’ bar shuffle that impresses lyrically. Small Town Blues is an exemplary example of Australian songwriting, full of beautifully restrained playing and honest songwriting.

Chris Familton

this review was first published in The Music