ANDY GOLLEDGE STRENGTH OF A QUEEN I OH YOU If you’re looking for an early contender for Australian Americana album of the year then you’re reading the right review. Andy Golledge has been a mainstay of the local scene in Sydney for at least half a dozen years now. He’s a lynchpin of sorts with … Continue reading
Category Archives: Album Artwork
A DELIGHT OF FINGERPICKED GUITAR AND GENTLE HORNS FROM AARON FISHER AND ROB STEPHENSON
From my internet travels I haven’t been able to find out much about this New York duo but this track, ‘Merino Ghost‘, from Aaron Fisher and Rob Stephenson’s 2022 album Sightseeing, absolutely caught my ear and pulled me in deep with its dreamy, evocative soundscape. They navigate a beautiful space between American Primitive guitar stylings … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Sin City – Welcome To Sin City
Check out the cover artwork for New Zealand duo Sin City’s debut album and you might be expecting a laidback Gram Parsons-styled cosmic country album, and there are elements of that, but at it’s core this is a rousing, loose-limbed blend of rock ’n’ roll, soul and country. From bar room brawls to late night … Continue reading
BILLY BRONSTED’S SPIRITED SOUL, BLUES AND COSMIC COUNTRY JAMS CUT TO THE HEART
Today we’re featuring two tracks from Billy Bronsted‘s new 2022 album Rhythm, Racket & Romance, recorded with his band The Loot. Bronsted hails from Wisconsin and the new album follows his 2017 release This Bed Of Mine. ‘Ain’t Lying’ (I Love You)‘ digs into the age old subject of love and realisation, as Bronsted explains, … Continue reading
LUCY ROLEFF & LEHMANN B. SMITH RELEASE EXQUISITE NEW FOLK COLLABORATION
There’s a pastoral elegance to ‘In The Doorway‘, the new single from Lucy Roleff & Lehmann B. Smith and the first taste of their collaborative full-length album Dark Green which will be released June 16th via the Youngbloods label. There’s a certain element of delicate yet self-assured, wistful poise that permeates the song as it’s carried … Continue reading
INTERVIEW: The Creative Flow of River Dreams
For River Dreams’ debut album Small Paintings, the pandemic served as the impetus, rather than a deterrent, for recording sessions to take place. Sydney musician and songwriter Carl Manwarring had been playing around the city’s Inner West bars, pubs and bowling clubs under his own name for a number of years, following an initial foray … Continue reading
INTERVIEW: YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW – THE WEEPING WILLOWS ON THEIR NEW ALBUM
Over the last decade, across a trio of albums, an EP and countless shows around Australia and North America, The Weeping Willows have slowly but surely built a loyal audience and critical acclaim, From their formation as a side project to Lachlan Bryan & The Wildes, there was initially little ambition and certainly no long … Continue reading
COMPELLING NEW SCOTTISH FOLK MUSIC FROM SAM SHACKLETON
Sam Shackleton has just released his album ‘Causeway Recordings’ on Bandcamp and streaming services. It’s a raw and captivating collection of originals and some traditional folk songs that showcase his rich and expressive voice and his clawhammer banjo, guitar and harmonica playing. His sound is primarily folk but it also draws from country and blues, … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Alex Hamilton – Sweetest Wine
ALEX HAMILTON SWEETEST WINE LOVE POLICE RECORDS + TAPES Alex Hamilton knows his way around high and lonesome folk-rock and on his debut solo album he reaches some wonderful high points that recall the keening, pastoral sound of Dylan, The Band and Neil Young. Hamilton used to be the songwriter and singer for Melbourne band … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: The Delines – The Sea Drift
THE DELINES THE SEA DRIFT LOVE POLICE RECORDS + TAPES Once considered a side project of Richmond Fontaine songwriter and frontman Willy Vlautin, on album #3 The Delines have comprehensively proven themselves as their own bittersweet and soulful microsystem, where damaged souls battle on against life’s twists and turns. Little beacons of hope amid the … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Mylee Grace – Whiplash In The Moshpit
MYLEE GRACE WHIPLASH IN THE MOSHPIT LOVE POLICE RECORDS + TAPES One of the first batch of releases on the newly minted record label by Love Police, Mylee Grace returns to releasing music after relocating to the Northern Rivers region of NSW six years ago. Prior to that she’d released a solo EP in 2010 … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: The Felice Brothers – From Dreams To Dust
THE FELICE BROTHERS FROM DREAMS TO DUST Yep Roc Records The upstate New York group, based around the brothers Ian and James Felice, have been consistently evolving their sound for 15 years now, across a brace of increasingly diverse albums that showcase the progression of main songwriter Ian’s songs, from early folk facsimiles to wildly … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: James McMurtry – The Horses and the Hounds
JAMES MCMURTRY THE HORSES AND THE HOUNDS New West Records It’s been a long wait for McMurtry fans since his excellent Complicated Game came out six years ago but there was never any doubt that it’d be worth the wait. McMurtry, like a fine wine, seems to just get better and better with age. The … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Mitch Dillon’s Compulsive Ramblers
MITCH DILLON’S COMPULSIVE RAMBLERS MITCH DILLON’S COMPULSIVE RAMBLERS RAGGED GUM RECORDS Melbourne musician Mitch Dillon has been around the local scene for a while now, backing up other artists and fronting Attractor Beams, a much-missed band who wore obvious influences such as The Replacements on their sleeves. Now stepping out on his own with backing … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Suicide Swans – Reservations
SUICIDE SWANS RESERVATIONS NEAR ENOUGH RECORDS The latest album from the prolific Queensland alt-country band led by singer-songwriter Kyle Jenkins continues their stunning and world class run of releases. It’s also their last album under the SS name. From now on the band, now a quartet, will be known was Mt. Morning. Each of their … Continue reading