Things are getting shadowy and noir with this dark and moody single from the LA-based artists CHILLEMI. There’s a very cool ghostly shimmer and a gothic twang to the song and given that stylised sound, it makes sense that there’s a Twin Peaks connection with the video clip starring Giselle DaMier, best known for her … Continue reading
Category Archives: Alt-Country
NEW MUSIC: Tommy Alexander – Drama
I’m a big fan of Tommy Alexander‘s Waves album of last year. He’s followed that up with a new double A side release called Light & Drama. Here’s the ‘Drama’ side of things, a very cool and lazy drawl of a song that shuffles along on the back of Alexander’s unassuming yet infectious vocal melody. Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: The Roseline – Seven Hundred Second Chances
‘Seven Hundred Second Chances’ is the brand new single from Lawrence, Kansas Americana band The Roseline. It comes form their forthcoming new LP and follows the release of their 2020 album Good/Grief which we’ve previously written about. Here they get even more widescreen with a Ryan Adams melodicism and sway in the verses before electric … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: The Nielsen Family Band – Fragile Flowers
I dig the way this track dances so lightly across the speakers. There’s a baroque folk feel, a touch of the pop nous of Harry Nilsson and a freak folk freedom going on. The Nielsen Family Band know their way around a charming and clever melody on ‘Fragile Flowers’, it sits on a solid backbeat … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: Stone Jack Jones – I’m Made
‘I’m Made’ is a brand new track from Stone Jack Jones and featuring the vocals of Adia Victoria. Dense, desolate, driving psych country folk and blues sounds are the order of the day here. It reminds me a lot of New Zealand band The Renderers who trade in a similar form of gothic psych country. … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: Wildie – Old Man
Wildie are a Swedish quartet who, from the sound of this track ‘Old Man’, excel at writing and performing country flavoured West Coast sounds with a classic pop streak. There’s Wilco, Ron Sexsmith, a dash of early Midlake and above all some lush, melodic 70’s style songwriting that sounds effortless. The song comes from their … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: Mac Greer – Say It To My Face
Oh man I love this track. It stopped me dead in my tracks when I first heard it. All the elements are perfect – the pacing and tempo, the grit and twang in Mac Greer‘s voice, the country tropes of heartache and pain, the simplicity and repetition of the lyrics, the way the electric guitar enters … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: Big Dog – Cowboy
I love the way this track lazily bounces along, draped in jangly cosmic twang and has this wonderfully swelling, spiralling feel, like it could spin on and out forever. It features the warmly melodic lead vocal of Netta Dor, who says of the song… “I love that final chorus. Where everyone becomes entangled with each … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams – Plastic Bouquet
Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams Plastic Bouquet New West Records A chance Spotify encounter with the music of Kacy & Clayton led Marlon Williams on an adventure that ended up in sub-zero Saskatoon in Canada and Nashville, TN to record this wonderful collaborative album. There’s a clear simpatico between the three of them, with … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: Greg Farley – Dodge Ram
Greg Farley used to be a member of The Felice Brothers but since his departure he’s slowly but surely carved out an impressive and promising solo career. In 2018 he released his album Taker Easy, featuring the excellent track ‘Make It Out’. His new album Brown Bag was released last month and one of its … Continue reading
NEWS: Hiss Golden Messenger announce new album and release new single/video
Hiss Golden Messenger‘s M.C. Taylor has announced that the new album Quietly Blowing It will be released via Merge Records on June 25th. To mark the announcement, he’s released a video for the song ‘If It Comes In The Morning’, a wandering slow and soulful song, complete with shimmering keys and a lonesome saxophone. The … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: Derek Dames Ohl – If Love Stinks
Here’s a great new song from Derek Dames Ohl out of Denver Colorado. It’s a lighthearted swing at a love song but one with a really nice country sway and lyrical quality to it – in the vein of John Prine’s playful tunes. Ohl also plays bass in the band Flash Mountain Flood but he’s … Continue reading
VIDEO PREMIERE: Brodie and the Oxy Clinic – You’ll Be In Our Prayers
Ballarat group Brodie and the Oxy Clinic have a brand new self-titled EP out today and we’re stoked to be able to premiere the video for the single ‘You’ll Be In Our Prayers’. It kicks off at breakneck speed and doesn’t let up – hurtling through a blur of guitar strings, rockabilly via punk drums … Continue reading
INTERVIEW: Caitlin Harnett
LATE NIGHTS IN THE INNER WEST Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys dish up a sonic smorgasbord of soulful country-rock on Late Night Essentials. by Chris Familton Sydney songwriter Caitlin Harnett knew from an early age that music was what she wanted to pursue and as an 18 year old she was quickly thrust into … Continue reading
VIDEO PREMIERE: Rhianna Fibbins – Little Whispers
‘Little Whispers’ is the second release from Rhianna Fibbins‘ debut EP From The Valley Looking Out and features Chance McCoy (Old Crow Medicine Show) on fiddle. There’s a really nice wandering feel to the track as acoustic, pedal-steel and electric guitars gently tangle and dovetail into McCoy’s mournful fiddle. Melbourne-based Fibbins was born and raised in the … Continue reading