I first came across Mitch Dillon‘s work with another of his bands – Attractor Beams. There he had a superb garage rock meets The Replacements sound. Here he doesn’t travel a great distance from that sound but it is a more distinct alt-country feel. ‘Do You Want Me to Forget?’ is less parched and brittle, instead it’s warmer and laidback on a lazy strum and some fine saxophone playing that holds off, with the main chorus, until 2/3 of the way through the track, entering the fray gloriously. That rough-edged voice is still a centre point to his songwriting, perfectly placed with just the right tone and wearily melodic phrasing that brings to mind Whiskeytown, Springsteen and Wilco.

The track comes from Dillon’s debut solo self-titled album which was released last week on Ragged Gum Records. He knows how to bring in a dream team too, with Van Walker producing and engineering by  Roger Bergodaz (Lost Ragas) at his Union Street Studios in Melbourne.

Available now on CD, vinyl and digital.