Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit Reunions Caroline Australia Jason Isbell cemented himself in the pantheon of 21st century songwriters with his Southeastern album in 2013. Since then he’s continued to release strong records but Reunions stands as his most consistent set of songs to date. Sure it might not have the exquisite emotional songwriting … Continue reading
Following on from Wagons‘ fine Songs From The Aftermath album, the band have been hard at work recording a new EP, of which the dark and spooky ‘Need A Ride?’ is the title track. There’s a cosmic malevolence at hand on the single, with psychobilly influences, some Suicide and a demonic ‘Nebraska’ Springsteen – all … Continue reading
Los Angeles band Idle Joy recently released their second album Your Stars and one of its highlights is the widescreen country rock of the song ‘Little Rain‘. Characterised by hot-wired guitars that slash and burn, jangle and twang across a loose and swaggering rock ‘n’ roll landscape, the song starts slow and steady before gathering … Continue reading
ALIVE AND KICKING On his debut solo album, What A Way To Die, Brandon Dodd shows he’s more than ready to step out of the shadows of his other musical projects with an accomplished and wide-ranging collection of roots music songs. If you’ve ever seen Kasey Chambers live in concert over the last five years … Continue reading
Hell yeah, this thing kicks along like a fleet-footed mountain cat. Locomotive drumming, brisk strumming and some killer electric guitar playing are the hallmarks of this song from Californian El Warren who has played in a bunch of other bands, across a myriad of styles. He know country and folk though by the sound of … Continue reading
Brandon Dodd What A Way To Die Independent ‘Absolute’, the opening track on Brandon Dodd’s debut solo album sets a high standard with its warmth and intimacy, a wonderful blend of country, folk and heart-on-sleeve soul. The subtlety and restraint in the guitar playing and Dodd’s voice introduce a solo artist who has treaded the … Continue reading
Sydney songwriter Bryan Estepa follows up his 2019 album, Sometimes I Just Don’t Know, with a brand new single ‘Weight In Gold’. It’s a warm and mellow embrace of a song. Heartfelt notions abound on this beautiful paean to a friend or a lover. It’s all wrapped up in shimmering guitar, handclaps and mellotron, with Estepa’s … Continue reading
Kansas City native Fritz Hutchison has just released Wide Wild Acres, an album that bristles with heartfelt intent and cascading melodies that tumble across a landscape of Americana and indie rock. ‘Fortunate Flaws’ sounds like a lost Creedence Clearwater Revival meets Wilco gem, built on the back of Hutchison’s gloriously lazy and wide-ranging voice. The push and pull … Continue reading
We posted excitedly about Tommy Alexander a few weeks ago, or maybe it was last month, life’s something of a blur at the moment. Regardless, we shouted from an isolated hilltop about the greatness of his first singles from his new album Waves which is out next Friday, June 5th. ‘Whatever You Say’ is the … Continue reading
There’s not much information floating around the interweb about American Eion Noonan but we heard this song on our online travels and really dug the rhythmic nod and sway of ‘Yesterday’. It has that lazy afternoon vibe and country rock ramshackle atmosphere like Wilco jamming with Built To Spill. Nice sounds indeed. Continue reading
We may be in an unprecedented time of crisis and uncertainty in which the live music scene has been decimated, but the good news is that art continues to be created and ushered into the world. Matt Joe Gow had planned a tour with Ben Mastwyk for this month so it’s nice to see he’s … Continue reading
John Moreland LP5 Old Omens/Thirty Tigers John Moreland is a master of melancholy, a chronicler of the downhearted and down on their luck, with his weathered and worn ache of a voice. He has a knack for delivering maximum emotional impact from minimal window dressing in his songs and he’s as much a soul singer … Continue reading
Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes Not Your Average Country Band Stanley Records It’s been six years since Sydney songwriter Dave Favours released his solo album Wet Suburban Sunday, but he’s spent those years building up the roster on his label Stanley Records, releasing the Australian alt-country compilation Take Me To Town and honing the … Continue reading
Great lyrics and delivery on these recent new releases from Texan Zach Aaron. There’s some Guthrie and Dylan in the mix, and a countrified blues sound that reminds me of a cross between Townes Van Zandt and a contemporary in Leo Rondeau – with his laidback style. The songs come from Aaron’s third studio album Fill … Continue reading
Melbourne group Team Love are set to release their debut album in 2020 and ‘Running‘ is the first taste of the new record. The quartet have added a bass guitarist and drummer to their line-up on their most recent recordings and that’s fleshed out their sound and allowed them to draw more country and folk … Continue reading
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