Bug Martin is a Philadelphia-based songwriter who has just released his new album Gutterball via Pyrrhic Recordings. Here’s one of the tracks, ‘Bartender’, an ode to many a person’s saviour and/or downfall. Over sparse acoustic guitar, banjo and pedal steel Martin sings in a haunting twang, an afterthought of a voice from another time, calling … Continue reading
Rocky Bottom is the work of Alex Hernandez who hails originally from New Jersey but made the shift to Nashville and dove deeper into country and folk music after earlier years dealing in a more punk-framed sound. His latest album, Mr. Nothing follows the more acoustic offering American Man and finds his songs further fleshed out … Continue reading
Tiny Ruins Olympic Girls Milk! Records “We were only inches away but still I had a long way to go” sings New Zealander Hollie Fullbrook on the opening title track of her new album. It’s a hallmark of Tiny Ruins songs, those lines that hang in the air with poetry and grace, cutting to the … Continue reading
Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Albi & The Wolves hit a sweet melodic strain of folk music on their new single ‘This Is War’. It bristles and keens like dancing firefly, circling a relationship in dissolution and emerging with resolve and optimism. The acoustic trio will be over here in Australia in a couple of … Continue reading
Matt Andersen Halfway Home By Morning True North Records/MGM Canadian Matt Andersen is a big man with a big voice and going on this collection of 13 songs he’s also got a big heart. Whether it’s singing devotional love songs or conveying the pain of loss, he invests heavy emotion and a believable sincerity in … Continue reading
Purple Mountains Purple Mountains Drag City / Spunk When indie rock and Americana music crossed paths and found common ground in the 90s, a group of songwriters emerged who shaped exquisite songs from literate, clever, dark and humorous poetry – blending it with electric and acoustic instrumentation. It was a new kind of country rock and … Continue reading
Jim Lauderdale From Another World Yep Roc Records By all accounts this is Jim Lauderdale’s 32nd album and it follows hot on the heels of last year’s excellent record Time Flies. From Another World shares many sonic similarities with its predecessor but as the title suggests there’s even more of a cosmic vibe to these … Continue reading
Hard grooves aplenty on this Americana soul track, the title cut from Toronto native Jeremie Albino‘s debut album Hard Time, out August 9th. It’s a more polished and more tightly produced sound than another of our current favourites, Charley Crockett. Albino has a folk voice but he’s doing some interesting things by placing it in … Continue reading
Texan Kathryn Legrande has released two superb new tracks. The first, ‘Going Crazy’ is a wonderful Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard-channeling, hard honky-tonk song topped off by Legrande’s fine vocal. There’s a touch of Nikki Lane in her sound too but less floorboard-stomping extrovert. ‘Making It Up’ takes a smoother and more wistful approach, soaked … Continue reading
Sean McMahon You Will Know When You’re There Blind Date Records Melbournian Sean McMahon’s new album is a beguiling affair. It occupies a gently rolling middle ground where songs never explode into wild extremes. Instead, they nestle into a warm and gently rocking vibe. McMahon’s sound is bucolic and forlorn singer/songwriter alt-country, with a dash … Continue reading
1969: A Watershed Year For Americana Music Half a century ago, in a single calendar year, an avalanche of albums were released that would go on to have a lasting and monumental impact on what would become known as alt-country and more recently Americana music. Looking back at 1969 and pursuing the list of albums … Continue reading
NATHAN SEECKTS THE HEART OF THE CITY Independent This is the debut album from Melbourne singer/songwriter Nathan Seeckts. He’s released a string of EPs since 2010 and that slow and steady approach has served him well, going on the impressive and consistent quality of the songwriting and musicianship on The Heart Of The City. Seeckts … Continue reading
THE FELICE BROTHERS UNDRESS Yep Roc Records At their core, The Felice Brothers have always centred on the songwriting of Ian Felice and the musicality of brother James, plus the influence of Simone Felice in the band’s early days, before he moved on to a solo career. They’ve had a revolving door of drummers but … Continue reading
Possessing one of the finest voices on the Sydney music scene, Peta Caswell has finally stepped out under her own name, with her band The Lost Cause, and released her debut self-titled EP (on Stanley Records). Blending country rock, soul and alt-country, Caswell knows how to belt out a rich, soaring chorus as confidently as … Continue reading
An exciting start to a new week with the first taste of the new Lost Ragas album This is Not A Dream. The cosmic country sounds are firmly intact on this superb track with a rhythm section that punches hard and tight beneath the spiralling psychedelic guitars of Matt Walker and Shane Reilly. Great production, … Continue reading
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