Last month I took a look at Gillian Welch’s seminal 2001 album Time (The Revelator), a record steeped in folk authenticity and traditional form. That same year a band from Chicago took their suburban country rock and alt-country and blew it apart into a thousand musical fragments before reconstructing their songs into glorious and inventive … Continue reading
The Stuart Highway runs from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia and its northern starting point is the home of songwriter David Garnham, who has penned this concept album of sorts. The songs take in the geography, lifestyle and characters that populate and travel … Continue reading
MELBOURNE, VIC alt-country and Australian Americana artist Al Carr released his new single ‘The Rose of Jericho‘ a couple of weeks ago and now he reveals the video clip for the song, ahead of the release of his forthcoming third album The Right Dereliction, (October 25th). Al Carr started playing in Sydney bands in the late 90s before a move to … Continue reading
Melbourne duo Hana Brenecki and guitarist Jessie-Lee Zubkevych have a new single out called ‘The Tallest of Tales‘, the second from their forthcoming new album, and we’re very happy to premiere the video clip for it today. It’s another fantastic single from the pair, Hana’s voice possessing the perfect balance of ache, twang and crackle. … Continue reading
PRESENTED BY DASHVILLE, 2SER AND POST TO WIRE One of the alt-country, Americana, folk, blues and rock ‘n’ roll highlights on the calendar each year is Dashville Skyline. The festival is held yearly in the Hunter Valley/Wonnarua Country region of NSW over the October long weekend. Dashville Skyline – Cosmic Country Weekender is a throwback … Continue reading
Paddy McHugh has been a favourite here at PTW for a number of years. His 2017 album Trials & Cape Tribulations in particular caught my ear and stuck with me. Paddy always manages to combine the social, the political and the personal, blending them in a passionate and emotive form that educates and entertains beautifully. … Continue reading
Melbourne/Naarm Americana artist and ex-Gooch Palmer Leroy Macqueen has released his new country single ‘Long Way Down’ single today. Firmly on the same playing field of warm and emotive crooning country in the vein of Orville Peck, Macqueen reinforces the impressive writing and singing chops he revealed on the fine previous single ‘Stepping Out’. Great … Continue reading
JUSTIN AND THE COSMICS COOL DEAD LOVE POLICE RECORDS + TAPES I’d actually forgotten I saw Justin & The Cosmics back in 2018, opening for Deer Tick at the Lansdowne Hotel here in Sydney. Once my pre-pandemic memory recall kicked back into gear I remembered how impressive they were that night. Attitude backed up with … Continue reading
From the opening notes of Small Town Romance‘s new single ‘Home Fires‘ you’ll be hard pressed not to succumb to the warm and lilting tone of Flora Smith‘s lead vocal on this slow burning slice of dreamy twang and mesmerising country soul. It drifts along with one eye to to sky and the other grounded … Continue reading
MARK LUCAS & THE DEAD SETTERS ONWARD INTO THE FOG INDEPENDENT Mark Lucas and his band of Dead Setters have been a fixture on the Sydney alt-country/roots music scene for the last two decades, playing the bars, clubs and bowlos, and every couple of years casting a new CD of songs out into the world. … Continue reading
LUCERO SHOULD’VE LEARNED BY NOW LIBERTY & LAMENT/THIRTY TIGERS Lucero are coming up to quarter of a century in the rock ’n’ roll and alt-country game and the Memphis band’s new album finds them returning to their bristling, punk’ish country-rock template after a run of more introspective releases. It’s a thrilling reminder of how great … Continue reading
Jeff Tweedy and WILCO are back with a new album called Cousin, produced by Cate Le Bon, and set for release on September 29th. Recorded in the band’s legendary Chicago studio—The Loft—over a period of two years, the ten new tracks are written by band leader Jeff Tweedy, and feature musical performances by the long … Continue reading
PHIL SMITH INTO THE NIGHT INDEPENDENT Tasmanian songwriter Phil Smith’s new album is one of those records that’s full of effortless sounding songs, where every note caresses and complements the next. There’s a specific kind of Australian Americana at play across the nine songs – part heartland rock, part jangly melodic rock. Overall though, it’s … Continue reading
Presented by Dashville, 2SER and Post To Wire, Dashville Skyline is excited to announce the full line-up for the festival, held on Wonnarua Country/Hunter Valley NSW on the October Long Weekend, Sept 28th-Oct 1st. This is more than just your standard country music festival. Dashville Skyline is a meticulously orchestrated musical feast, which casually meanders … Continue reading
Last week Melbourne singer-songwriter Clint Wilson released ‘Slow to Trust‘, the third single from his forthcoming new album, L.A. (August 11th). Today I’m very pleased to be able to premiere the song’s clip which finds Wilson and band performing in glorious black and white, filmed and directed by Stu Art Video Productions. The song dances lightly … Continue reading
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