Son Volt has announced that their new album, Notes Of Blue with be released on February 17th, 2017 via Thirty Tigers/Cooking Vinyl Australia.Led by the songwriting and vocals of Jay Farrar, Son Volt was one of the most instrumental and influential bands in launching the alt-country movement of the 1990’s. A movement that was the precursor to what is now widely referred to as … Continue reading
With the recent release of his sophomore album Violet Road, Sydney Americana artist Sam Newton has certainly made good on the promise he showed on his debut Set In Stone. The new record is intensely honest and personal, the result of Newton’s focus and desire to become the best songwriter he can possibly be. With … Continue reading
A decade ago, Devendra Banhart was the poster child for the American acid-folk movement that rose out of a close-knit community. As with all scenes, the different members went on to pursue their muses into contrasting and varied territory with Banhart continuing to explore eccentric song form. At first he took it into a more … Continue reading
Alynda Segarra returns with her band Hurray For The Riff Raff and their new album The Navigator, on March 10th 2017. The Navigator tells an interwoven, cinematic story of a wandering soul at a crossroads of identity and ancestral weight. It finds a street kid named Navita traversing a perpetually burning city in search of herself and was … Continue reading
Here’s the latest single from William Crighton’s excellent self-titled album that came out earlier this year. It’s one of the highlights of his live set too with its emotive Tim Buckley LA vibe and humid, rolling rhythm section. Continue reading
This Sunday, Dec 4th is the final Heartbreaker Sessions for 2016 (we’ll be back early in 2017) so we’re hoping that plenty of alt-country and folk lovin’ types will come down to The Bearded Tit in Redfern, Sydney for live sets from Darren Cross and Jen Mize plus the usual cosmic country, troubadour picking, folk … Continue reading
Jason Walker doesn’t play much with his full band so this was a chance to hear songs from his recently released new album All-Night Ghost Town, fleshed out with drums, bass and lead guitar – with Walker himself on electric. They sounded fantastic too, tight yet still with that alt-country looseness that gave them a … Continue reading
Warnings & Wisdom may only be her second album but American songwriter Jen Mize has already lived a colourful musical life that has taken her from Las Vegas casinos to the Boston Conservatory, from the Duke Ellington Orchestra to a home on the Sunshine Coast. Jen Mize’s debut Fear, Pride And A Few Stubborn Angels … Continue reading
There’s a saying “you only get one shot”, yet over time rock ’n’ roll has proven that’s not necessarily the case. One such example is Glad Reed and David Claringbold. Collaborators in life and music since the mid 80s, they demonstrate on their new album The Road, that they’re still driven by a shared passion … Continue reading
Pegi Young is back with her second solo LP Raw, her first since she divorced from her long-term husband Neil Young. Here’s the first single from it – ‘Too Little Too Late’. Raw begins with a song clearly addressed to her ex, ‘Why’, with the refrain “Why’d you have to ruin my life,”. The rest of … Continue reading
In the pantheon of modern songwriters only a few explore the dark corners of the heart and soul with such poetry, precision and weight as Leonard Cohen. He’s in that revered group alongside Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and increasingly, Nick Cave. Now 82, Cohen sees the end in sight, the curtains closing on a storied … Continue reading
Nikki Lane has been hard at work over the past couple of years, writing and recording the follow-up to her successful 2014 album All Or Nothin‘. The first single to be released from the new LP (due out via New West Records on Feb 17th ) is the title track ‘Highway Queen’. Preorders with all manner … Continue reading
Americana music, when it hits the mark, sounds modern and topical while honouring the country and folk ghosts of the past and James Kenyon has managed to corral his songs into an intriguing amalgam of just that. Kenyon’s style is comparable to the quieter side of Ryan Adams mixed with a hint of Bon Iver … Continue reading
STAYING IN THE SONGWRITING SADDLE Lindi Ortega returned to Australia last month for the Out On The Weekend festival and her own headline shows. She fills Chris Familton in on what she’s been up to in the year since her album Faded Gloryville was released. Canadian (and Nashville resident) country singer/songwriter Lindi Ortega will make her third visit … Continue reading
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