For Kevin Welch, it seems like a lifetime ago that he rolled into Nashville in the late 70s, one of the countless budding songwriters seeking fame and/or fortune. In the cut-throat country music capital it’s usually the best that survive and it wasn’t long before Welch became recognised for his songwriting and gained respect from … Continue reading
Album number three for Melbourne-based songwriter Matt Joe Gow and this one finds him hitting his stride with his most compelling and realised set of songs to date. Gow co-produced the album and it certainly sounds world class with space for the songs to breathe and backed up with some wonderful and stylistically varied playing … Continue reading
BEYOND THE BORDERS OF ALT-COUNTRY From alt-country to blues to soul, Matt Joe Gow covers all bases on his third album. Across his first two albums, Matt Joe Gow laid down some accomplished alt-country, the kind that showed a lifetime growing up on the songs of Whiskeytown, The Jayhawks and Wilco alongside his parents’ record … Continue reading
Sydney quartet Copperline recently released their debut album Rusty Fords And Weatherboards and celebrated with a wonderful night of music at LazyBones Lounge in Marrickville, NSW. We’ve got a full review coming soon but both the album and their live show highlights the band’s fine musicianship and the range of styles they bring to their music, … Continue reading
This is the latest single from Melbourne songwriter Hamish Anderson who has been picking up a fair bit of buzz in the US over the last few years. It’s a bluesy alt-country track that would sit comfortably alongside the more recent work of Ryan Adams. Clean production and definitely polished but it still has enough alt-country … Continue reading
Originally from from the small southern town of Bolton, Mississippi, Robert Connely Farr is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia and with his group The Rebeltone Boys he’s released the excellent new album Dirty South Blues. It’s chock full of heavy blues-rock, primarily originals plus a cover of Skip James’ ‘Hard Time Killing Floor Blues’. ‘Ode To … Continue reading
Hillstomp are a due that tear up the folk blues handbook and let the torn pages scatter across the stage in a whirlwind of stomping rhythms, breakneck picking and strumming. They’ve got a new album called Monster Receiver, which is set to be released through Fluff and Gravy Records on October 19th. The LP features guest … Continue reading
“Iggy, oh Iggy, I wanna be your sweet sixteen, even though I’m almost 29” sings Mary-Elaine Jenkins on this excellent crunchy blues and struttin’ country rock track, taken from her debut album Hold Still, due out on September 28th via Good Child Music. She’s got one of those lived-in smokey voices, perfectly suited to the blues … Continue reading
Ry Cooder is the great circler, a musician who seems to have a hand in all manner of scenes and genres and the ability to drift between all of them seamlessly. He played on Captain Beefheart’s Safe As Milk, produced Buena Vista Social Club, scored film soundtracks and played guitar on The Rolling Stones’ Let … Continue reading
Bob Dylan @ ICC Theatre, Sydney 18th August 2018 There’s a dire warning before Bob Dylan takes the stage at the ICC Theatre – “filming and photography will not be tolerated, please turn off your electronic devices”. It’s a sign that Dylan is either still extremely protective of his image and his art or those newfangled contraptions (phones) … Continue reading
PAYING HOMAGE TO OBSCURE BLUES Eilen Jewell recently visited Australian shores for a run of shows showcasing her album Down Hearted Blues, but as she reveals to Chris Familton, she’s already been in the studio working on her next album of original material. It’s an overcast spring evening in Boise, Idaho when Eilen Jewell answers the … Continue reading
Darren Watson is a stalwart of the New Zealand blues scene with a lineage in the bands Chicago Smoke Shop and Midge Marsden Band. Primarily he’s cut his teeth as an electric guitarist and singer so this acoustic record is a departure from the template and as a result it feels like a special project. … Continue reading
Kasey Chambers’ last release was a double album, a sprawling and diverse set that at times felt like it would have benefited from more editing and quality control. Perhaps in reaction to the nature of that album she’s retreated to the campfire as both a symbol and a literal focal point for this set of … Continue reading
Marlon Williams, The Weather Station @ Metro Theatre, May 17th 2018 Five years of hard work, countless hours in airport lounges, nights on friends’ couches and in bars and clubs is paying off big time with Marlon Williams’ current Australian tour sold out in the largest venues he’s headlined to date. This time around he he’s brought … Continue reading
Blues & Alchemy: Remembering Chris Whitley’s ‘Dirt Floor’ 2000 was a particularly big year for me personally. I’d finished high school in rural NSW the previous year and had transgressed to the metropolis of Sydney. I spent the year between two share houses, one in La Perouse, the other in Petersham. I’d be embarrassed to … Continue reading
