Between them, Glad Reed and David Claringbold have woven a path through the Australian music industry for the last thirty years. Glad has worked as a musician with Midnight Oil, The Cruel Sea, Laughing Clowns and many more while Dave has forged a successful career in production with acts including The Lighthouse Keepers and The Jackson Code.

Partners in music and in life, their previous album was the stripped back and atmospheric Orchid Avenue (2010). It was dark, intimate and in strong contrast to The Road. Here they’ve taken a widescreen view of rock ’n’ roll, drawing on some of the key cornerstones in country, blues and gospel music. The qualities of mood and dark brooding still course through their songs but here the spirit is one built on swagger, sway and groove. You can hear the sound of The Saints and Springsteen – the ghosts of Australian pub bands mingling with the wide open plains and roots music of America. It only clocks in at thirty minutes but The Road is an album of rich songwriting and exemplary playing. It sounds like it comes from the heart – of both Glad & Dave and this country.

CHRIS FAMILTON