Last year The Weeping Willows released their excellent album Till The North Wind Blows (review) which showed them to be wonderfully authentic proponents of bluegrass, folk and country music. With voices that contrast and blend perfectly the couple write songs around their voices and the superb guitar playing of Andrew Wrigglesworth. We spoke with singer … Continue reading
by Chris Familton Caitlin Rose returns with her second album of bittersweet Americana that shows a marked progression from her 2010 debut. There is a confidence that now pervades her songwriting, casting her in a similar light to Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis, infusing a country template with pop sensibilities in a classic songwriting format. The … Continue reading
IN THE WAKE OF THE MASSIVE SUCCESS OF THE SINGLE HO HEY AND THEIR DEBUT SELF-TITLED ALBUM, DRUMMER JEREMIAH FRAITES SPOKE TO CHRIS FAMILTON TO SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE LUMINEERS RAPID RISE TO FAME. The pop world still constantly throws up one hit wonders and success stories that seem to spring from nowhere, gather … Continue reading
by Chris Familton Veritable veterans of country music, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell have been friends ever since she heard a cassette demo of his song Bluebird Wine (covered here) back in 1975. She included the song on her debut album and he joined her band so it is surprising this is their first true … Continue reading
by Chris Familton Collaboration isn’t new to Dawn McCarthy and Will Oldham who released an album of demos in 2007 (Wai Notes) as an addendum to the previous year’s The Letting Go on which McCarthy sang. Those songs showed an ethereal synergy between their voices making this new album a tantalising proposition for those who … Continue reading
by Chris Familton Melbourne duo The Weeping Willows released Till The North Wind Blows last year but their superb collection of songs could have dropped at any time in the last hundred years, such is the timeless quality they bring to their music and songwriting. The album drips with authenticity which can be a hard … Continue reading
by Chris Familton Finding artists that can straddle the worlds of folk and country music while still harnessing the pure and honest elements of those genres can often be a hard thing. Contemporary songwriters like Justin Townes Earle, Ryan Adams and Will Oldham come to mind and now, with his debut album Photographs, you can … Continue reading
Last year Fanny Lumsden and her merry men played a series of shows at country halls in places like Ganmain, Tallimba and Boree Creek to fundraise money for flood relief. Next month they are doing the same thing again, this time with the proceeds going towards the continued upkeep and maintenance of the buildings they are … Continue reading
New Zealand duo Delaney Davidson & Marlon Williams released a fine love letter to country music last year with their LP Sad But True – The Secret History Of Country Music Songwriting Volume 1 and now they’ve released a second single from it in the shape of How Lucky You Are. The pair are about to head … Continue reading
Jay Farrar’s band Son Volt have a new album, just released last week, called Honky Tonk via Rounder Records. The album features eleven new songs that are inspired by the classic honky tonk sound of Bakersfield. Check out the video for the opening track, an Rdio stream of the LP and the band’s upcoming US tour dates. http://rd.io/x/QUN9AiJ31oE … Continue reading
Emma Swift is something of golden light for Americana music, particularly here in Australia where it often leads a sheltered existence in mainstream media. Her time as host of the respected In The Pines on FBi Radio in Sydney and more recently as host of ABC National’s Saturday Night Country has cast her as one of the … Continue reading
Two of the greats, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell have finally got around to recording an album of duets together after thirty years of friendship and playing music together. Old Yellow Moon is made up of four Crowell originals and eight covers by the likes of Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller and Patti Scialfa that the … Continue reading
Dawes released a fantastic album in 2011’s Nothing Is Wrong and impressed many on their tour of Australia supporting My Morning Jacket. They seemed to have space to spare in their music that touched on classic pop/rock and a healthy streak of americana. The good news is that the band have a new album about … Continue reading
by Chris Familton The practice of an established artist giving a relative newcomer a leg-up by taking them out on tour is an admirable one and in the case of Texan singer/songwriter Robert Ellis it was a real treat to watch and listen to such an affable singer with a firm grasp of a number … Continue reading
On April 16th Sam Beam’s Iron & Wine will release their fifth studio album in Ghost on Ghost. It follows the excellent swamp folk mantra rock of 2011’s Kiss Each Other Clean. It will be Beam’s first release on Nonesuch Records and below you can check out the first music to emerge from the record … Continue reading
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