Queensland songwriter JB Paterson released his third album Springtime Is Coming (Holiday Maker Records) at the tail end of 2022 but this one is such a great record I felt compelled to post a belated review of the 13-track folk suite which traces the seasonal shift from winter to spring. 

The album was written, performed and self-produced by JB Paterson in his off-grid, solar recording studio in Cedar Creek, Queensland yet this isn’t a ramshackle, lo-fi cabin recording project. It’s as lush as one would hope it to be. If anything, the location adds a subtle sense of intimacy, draped in a relaxed and timeless atmosphere. 

Primarily folk music, there are shades of the blues and elements of gentle twang running through these back porch soliloquies that are meditative, hypnotic, heartwarming and utterly gorgeous.

These are short songs, only a handful scrape past the three minute mark but his genius lies in the way he makes them feel like mini, unhurried opuses. Banjo rattles and resonates through most of the songs, with guest appearances from violin, pedal steel, guitar bass and drums – the overall effect being one of a collective of players rather than a one-man show. Paterson’s voice sounds suitably weathered and heartfelt, falling somewhere between The Felice Brothers and M. Ward. If you’re a fan of anyone from JJ Cale to Tom Waits, ambient Americana and Nick Drake then you’ll find plenty to satiate and surprise your musical tastes.