Soul music is an integral part of what we call Americana music. Just one of the many elements that make up that sound. Boo Ray incorporates it wonderfully on this new single that has one hell of a catchy chorus, complete with horns and soul-dripping harmonies. It’s country music but it rocks and swings like … Continue reading
BOOKMARKS IN TIME Mark Lucas charts the last two decades of his solo career on a new retrospective, Prisoners Of The Heart. In June of 1981, Mark Lucas stepped off a plane at Sydney Airport and before they’d got home, the girl that he’d followed across the world dumped him, which he half-jokingly says “got … Continue reading
THE MIRROR OF TRUTH On his new album The Crossing, Alejandro Escovedo takes an unflinching and poetic look at America and the immigrant experience. By Chris Familton Alejandro Escovedo has been surrounded by music his entire life. His father played and listened to Mexican music, his mother loved big band jazz music and his rocker … Continue reading
Here at PTW HQ we’re very excited to be able to share ‘Undress’, the brand new single and title track from the forthcoming new LP by The Felice Brothers. Since they released their last album, Life In The Dark, in 2016, the band have undergone some lineup changes with a new rhythm section – Will … Continue reading
Charles Wesley Godwin has an interesting back story. Born and raised in Morgantown in the Appalachian hills, to a coal miner father and schoolteacher mother, he ditched college football and picked up the guitar before discovering he had a knack for playing and songwriting during overseas study in Estonia. Since then he’s shared stages with … Continue reading
Take Me To Town, the 3CD, 47 track compilation of contemporary Australian alt-country music is heading to Tamworth 2019, with a very special showcase gig featuring an all-star line-up of Ben Leece & Left Of The Dial, Katie Brianna, The Weeping Willows, Hana & Jessie-Lee, Lachlan Bryan, Jen Mize and Mitch Power. If you are … Continue reading
Hayesville caught our ear with this rich and stately vocal sound. He’s a Swedish singer songwriter now based in Cologne, Germany and he counts Songs: Ohia as an influence which instantly makes him a winner in our book. It’s a classic sound that he goes for, quite baroque at times, a gothic Americana of sorts … Continue reading
Dave Ernst hails from Louisville, Kentucky and this wonderfully bruised slice of Southern country rock comes from his debut solo album Hickory Switch, produced by Peter Searcy (Squirrel Bait) and mixed by Ken Coomer (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo). You can definitely hear Uncle Tupelo, Drive-By Truckers, Lucero and the like in the sound of this song, ‘Superstar’, … Continue reading
Here’s a nice slice of slacker alt-country from Nashville, TN, courtesy of the group Dialup Ghost. It’s a tasty amalgam of The Replacements, Pavement and Silver Jews. It comes from their 2018 album I’m Fine, I’m Fine which has a nice lo-fi, ramshackle, lazy and wistful streak running through it. Continue reading
Hailing from Amarillo TX but now Nashville-based, Jacob McCoy excels at cutting to the emotional core of his songs with concise lyrical elements, lilting guitar phrasing, heavenly pedal steel and piano, and a voice that balances grit and sweetness. ‘Rear View Mirror’ comes from his 2018 LP Questions. Continue reading
ACROSS THE DITCH In musical terms, and to Australia audiences, New Zealand may be best known for its indie exports (based around the Flying Nun label), the various pop shapes of Neil Finn and associates and heavier acts such as Shihad. Yet there is, and always has been, a fertile country & folk scene throughout … Continue reading
TALES FROM TWO CITIES Jo Meares reveals the complicated process of recording his new album and how he learnt to embrace his own voice. By Chris Familton Over a series of albums, Jo Meares has slowly whittled away at his craft of songwriting and the delicate placement of those songs on atmospheric musical canvases. Dark … Continue reading
This is a really nice slow-burn of a song. It slowly unfurls and reveals itself on the back of sparse guitar, distant organ and shuffling drums. Mike Powell‘s voice is the clincher though, with just the right amount of grit and grain in his tone to convey the heavy emotion of the song. A plaintive … Continue reading
LeBarons hit a Calexico vibe on this opening track from their new LP Summer Of Death. You can hear open desert roads, cacti standing tall in the setting sun and the melting asphalt beneath car tyres. It’s an evocative tune, a desert noir I guess. It reminds me of Sydney group The Morrisons in some … Continue reading
Yesterday we revealed our favourite 2018 local releases from Australia (and NZ). Today we go global with our 40 favourite albums of 2018. We were going to make it a list that excluded the local albums, seeing as we’ve already published those favourites, but as with previous years we decided we don’t want to separate … Continue reading
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