Between them, Glad Reed and David Claringbold have woven a path through the Australian music industry for the last thirty years. Glad has worked as a musician with Midnight Oil, The Cruel Sea, Laughing Clowns and many more while Dave has forged a successful career in production with acts including The Lighthouse Keepers and The … Continue reading
This is album number three for Sydney quintet The Ramalamas and it finds them successfully capturing their live sound in the studio. There’s a relaxed atmosphere and looseness of playing – in the best possible sense – that defines the spirit the band has, making this a freewheeling and fun album to listen, dance and … Continue reading
Over their career The Felice Brothers have applied broad brushstrokes to the Americana genre. They embody the rich meeting point of country, folk and bluegrass music – where the song comes first and the style is the framework upon which it sits. The latest album feels their most relaxed and natural in years. It rolls … Continue reading
One her 2013 album Dark Side Of The Morning Katie Brianna seemed to find her voice and settle into her own songwriting. Now in 2016 she has taken that self-belief, crafted an even stronger set of songs and produced a world class album of soulful country-tinged music. With production courtesy of Shane Nicholson, the album … Continue reading
Sturgill Simpson might be pegged as the renaissance man of modern country music but there’s a strong case for Texan Robert Ellis as the true heir to that throne. Over four albums he has progressively distanced himself from traditional country and delved deeper and deeper into a rich exploratory style of confessional songwriting. On this … Continue reading
Darren Cross made his name as a founding member of collage pop provocateurs Gerling but these days he’s one half of folk noir duo Jep and Dep and a solo artist trading in dark avant-folk. Surprisingly, this is Cross’ debut solo album and in many ways it embraces his past and present musical explorations with … Continue reading
Queenslander Josh Rennie-Hynes has backed up his debut album with another set of bittersweet Americana songs that sound more assured and worldly though sometimes lacking dynamics that could have elevated the songs into more emotionally heavy-hitting territory. Songs are filled with people and places from Rennie-Hynes’ constant touring and he’s mastered melancholy and a sympathetic … Continue reading
The folk, country and bluegrass string quintet return with their third album after a period on the sidelines due to Danny Widdicombe undergoing Leukaemia treatment. You get the strong sense these guys play for the thrill of creating communal music together and the chemistry between their voices is a natural fit while still allowing their … Continue reading
Cody Jinks is the latest outlaw-country artist to emerge from the road-worn bar scene of the US start making waves to a wider audience. Possessing a rich country baritone in the style of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard (he covers Haggard’s ‘The Way I Am’), he could be viewed as the flip-side to … Continue reading
Cash Savage trades in gothic and roots-based rock ’n’ roll that swings from funereal folk to surging widescreen workouts. There’s more range on One Of Us than previous albums. Run With The Dogs has a War On Drugs-styled pulse, Sunday Morning is a dirty, banjo-led folk song reminiscent of The Felice Brothers, Empty Page is … Continue reading
Tracy McNeil showed flashes of brilliance on her previous album and she’s taken that one step further with a more consistent set of songs on Thieves. There’s a laid-back smooth quality to McNeil’s music that recalls US west coast FM rock of the late 70’s with warm harmonies, swaying guitar lines and a general uplifting … Continue reading
Bob Dylan hasn’t released an original song in four years. Instead, on last years Shadows In The Night and now Fallen Angels, he’s paid tribute to American standards made famous by Frank Sinatra. Though these dozen tracks continue the lush, stately and intimate treatment of Shadows In The Night, the album feels like a lesser … Continue reading
Like a slow mist rolling down a valley or long evenings on the back porch, Carpenter’s 14th album is a slow-moving and introspective country affair. Confessional stories of heartache and emotional turbulence are presented and dissected on the Dave Cobb produced album yet across nearly an hour of restrained mood the effect is one of … Continue reading
Hussy Hicks’ Julz Parker and Leesa Gentz seem to have one of those wordless, symbiotic musical relationships. Everything sounds in harmony with perfect placement and interplay between Parker’s sublime guitar playing and Gentz’s soulful and often ecstatic singing on their fourth full-length album. The album opens with the over-wrought Flying that sounds like an overcooked … Continue reading
On his fifth album, country troubadour Hayes Carll has stripped back his songs to a place of contemplation with slow-burning tales of heartache. It’s a languid and casual affair where the songs drift by, conjuring up late humid nights on the back porch with a bottle for company and a head full of confessional and … Continue reading
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