Big Thief U.F.O.F. 4AD What started with a debut album in 2016, that introduced a fragile and poetic songwriter and her band, has blossomed into a fascinating and quickly evolving career for Adrienne Lenker and the rest of Big Thief. They’ve been touring relentlessly, Lenker even having time to record a well received solo record … 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
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
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
TOWNES VAN ZANDT SKY BLUE Fat Possum Records/Inertia Early in 1973, Townes Van Zandt visited his journalist and musician friend Bill Hedgepeth in Atlanta, Georgia, as he often would through his life, and recorded these stripped down acoustic songs in Hedgepeth’s home studio. Some are instantly recognisable TVZ classics while two are unreleased tracks, others … Continue reading
THE DELINES THE IMPERIAL El Cortez Records Willy Vlautin has proven to be quite the Americana renaissance man with his time in the highly respected alt-country group Richmond Fontaine, a second career as an acclaimed novelist (Lean On Pete, Don’t Skip Out On Me) and most recently as main songwriter for The Delines. This, their … Continue reading
RYAN BINGHAM AMERICAN LOVE SONG Thirty Tigers/Cooking Vinyl Australia Ryan Bingham cut his teeth as a rodeo rider, he’s an actor, but most importantly he’s an accomplished singer-songwriter. On his sixth album he’s corralled his most wide reaching and rewarding collection of songs to date. Across 15 songs, Bingham paints portraits of the American dream, … Continue reading
Steve Gunn The Unseen In Between Matador Steadily, across a career now spanning a dozen years, Steve Gunn has progressively moved from the abstract, experimental and collaborative to a singular artistic with his own distinct sound. From American Primitive guitar beginnings where he was enthralled by the likes of John Fahey and Sandy Bull to … Continue reading
Kyle Jenkins Meltdown Near Enough Records (2018) Kyle Jenkins is the singer-songwriter behind Toowoomba-based band Suicide Swans and even though they’re in the midst of a prolific streak of excellent albums, he’s also found time to release his debut solo album which hits similarly high peaks in both song quality and sound. Suicide Swans excel … Continue reading
Copperline Rusty Fords And Weatherboards Independent The members of Sydney band Copperline have been playing in various bands dating back to the 90s and after ten years they’ve finally recorded their debut album together, one that certainly feels like a collective gathering of likeminded musicians and accomplished players. Led by songwriter Brad Christmas, the band … Continue reading
Jeff Tweedy Warm dBpm Records Inc. Surprisingly this is the debut solo album of new material for Jeff Tweedy (Wilco/Uncle Tupelo). He’s previously released a live-in-studio album of songs from his back catalogue and then there was the Sukierae album under the name Tweedy, with son Spencer. This though feels wholly Jeff – relaxed and effortlessly … Continue reading
Neil Young Songs For Judy Shakey Pictures Records/Warner Music In 1976 Neil Young embarked on a North American tour with Crazy Horse. His opening act was himself, raw and acoustic in large auditoriums across the country. Joel Bernstein and Cameron Crowe were along for the ride and when Bernstein was roped in as a guitar … Continue reading
