Watling & Bates are Kym Watling and Geoffrey Bates, songwriters from Unumgar, on the western edge of the Northern Rivers of NSW. This new song of theirs grabbed our attention with its blend of bush ballad and gothic country – all shimmering notes, a slow noir crawl and story of a mysterious disappearance of a man on his way to Unumgar Station during the Northern Rivers gold rush of the 1850s. Delivered in a measured Australian accent and with a haunting atmosphere hanging heavy across it, the song draws you in quite beautifully.