Neko Case’s journey from alt-country chanteuse and indie songstress (The New Pornographers) to something that now resembles a symbiotic fusion of the two has been one that has sometimes found her struggling to find a niche and suitably broadminded audience. On her most recent album she sounds the most settled and of herself and so … Continue reading
Ranger Spacey kicked things off with a set of hooky guitar music that sat at the crossroads between Pavement and The Band. They were a relaxed and jovial band who interacted with a relaxed vibe that suited their sunny-sounding music. Their drummer stood out as their backbone, able to switch effortlessly from skin pounding to … Continue reading
Ex-The Delivery guitarist Dave Favours has stepped out on his lonesome with an assured and accomplished debut album that pays respect to some of his influences amid well-crafted originals. The Saints, Ramones and The Rolling Stones (Loving Cup) get the Favours treatment yet his own songs like the rowdy and rockabilly-leaning single Linda Marie and … Continue reading
Yesterday saw the third instalment of Inner Western, the country covers afternoon at the Petersham Bowling Club in Sydney. It was another great event with covers of songs from Hank Williams, Neil Young, Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Iris Dement, Blaze Foley, Gillian Welch, The Rolling Stones, Gram Parsons and of course Townes Van Zandt. The … Continue reading
Tracklisting Gene Clark – American Dreamer (American Dreamer soundtrack) Calexico – Alone Again Or (Love cover, Alone Again Or EP, 2003) Davey Craddock & The Spectacles – Keep On Waiting (Going Home EP, 2012) Bill Monroe – Blue Moon Of Kentucky (Country & Western Hit Parade 1947, compilation) Phosphorescent – Cocaine Lights (Pride, 2007) Oakley … Continue reading
On February 27th ‘The Wild Men of Folk’ will be playing at Lizotte’s Kincumber. Featuring Mike McCarthy, Mark Moldre, Kris Morris and Adam Lang the foursome will be playing a mix of their own material and sharing a few favourite covers ( incl. Mississippi John Hurt, Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits, Gillian Welch, Steve Earle, Lefty Frizzell and … Continue reading
Austin City Limits has been running for forty years as a TV series and it continues to showcase the finest music across a range of genres. Americana gets a great look-in with recent shows including Dawes, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves and Dale Watson. Here’s Willie Nelson playing the show’s pilot … Continue reading
Last year Dan Waters released his excellent solo LP La Vita E Bella to critical acclaim and he was rewarded with Best Country Album at the Age Music Victoria Awards. Waters has followed that up with a new EP under the name The Gulbransen Brothers, featuring Chad Mason of Wagons as his equal songwriting/sparring partner. Don’t Let The Music Stop … Continue reading
New Zealander Greg Fleming has recently completed recording his new album Forget The Past, which follows the excellent Edge of the City (2012), and now he’s looking for some support to press 300 copies of it on CD to accompany its digital release. Head over to his PledgeMe page and for as little as $5 … Continue reading
Lost Ragas are a new band based around the supremely talented Matt Walker, a songwriter, guitarist who I first discovered on his I Listen to the Night collaboration with Ashley Davies back in 1997. That was of course very much a blues-based record while this project marries the blues and country music. They released their … Continue reading
Sydney songwriter Dave Favours is releasing his excellent new LP Wet Suburban Sunday this week and to accompany it he’s posted a great Jeff Siberry directed clip for the single Linda Marie featuring a Sasquatch and black and white footage of rivers, tunnels and train tracks. Continue reading
by Chris Familton Two years on from Jordie Lane’s well received second album Blood Thinner, the Melbournian returns from some overseas jaunts with a new EP of warm, bucolic folk and alt-country songs that further enhance his stock as a quality singer/songwriter. Lane is one of those contemporary singers who sounds very much like the … Continue reading
by Chris Familton New Zealander (now Melbourne-based) Marlon Williams opened the evening with an impressive set of originals and covers (Townes Van Zandt). Williams’ voice is a beautiful instrument capable of soaring falsetto, yodel hiccups and he used it to near perfection singing songs of tear-stained loss and heartache. One in particular, State Hospital, was … Continue reading
On the back of his superb album 2013 album Southeastern, strangely not released locally in Australia until February, Jason Isbell has announced a series of dates in addition to his appearance at Boogie Festival next April. In addition to performing with a full band, Isbell will have Tift Merritt opening for him. Merritt locally released her Travelling Alone LP earlier … Continue reading
On January 28th, 2014, Legacy Recordings will reissue Uncle Tupelo’s debut LP, 1990′s No Depression as a special two-disc remastered and expanded edition featuring rare and previously unreleased material. Included is the recently unearthed 10-song demo tape Not Forever, Just Now, recorded by the original trio of Jeff Tweedy, Jay Farrar, and Mike Heidorn in 1989. The reissue will also include … Continue reading
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