Charley Crockett The Valley Thirty Tigers / Cooking Vinyl Australia Descendant of legendary frontiersman Davy, traveling troubadour and heart surgery survivor – Charley Crockett sure has a big back story. The most pleasing factor is of course his music, a lackadaisical country blues sound with a New Orleans soul swing to it, which he’s been slowly … Continue reading
The group harmonies and the rough and ready blend of country, bluesy rock and bluegrass from the Scottish group Bone Idle Bros are what caught our ear when we trawling the wild frontier of the internet for some new sounds. ‘Lately’, their second single, mixes things up but never overcooks things. It sounds just like … Continue reading
Paul Cauthen Room 41 Lightning Rod Records Out of misery and heartache comes great art. That seems to be one of the great recurring themes of all the artistic mediums. On his new solo album, Paul Cauthen has clearly lived and by the sound of it, learned from a particularly low period in his life … Continue reading
For a decade now, Dan Brodie has been a master at skirting around the edges of a number of musical genres. He’s taken from rock, blues, alt-country and rockabilly, combining them all into his own decidedly Australian take on rock ’n’ roll. It’s the sound of cold beer and back porches in the summertime, sweaty … Continue reading
Last year, Australian group Billy Roberts & The Rough Riders released their latest album The Southern Sessions and one of its highlights is this slow burning gem ‘Special’. Elsewhere on the album they dig into some bluesy rock ‘n’ roll territory, straight country rock and folk rock. With a voice that reminds me a bit of … Continue reading
Another year and the end of another decade of great music. Time flies but at least we’ve got a great soundtrack. As ever 2019 saw some wonderful new music released. There was the return of artists who had been on a hiatus of sorts – Bill Callahan, Crazy Horse and most importantly… David Berman (R.I.P.) … Continue reading
2019 delivered another bounty of homegrown treats in the form of full-length albums that captured the range and spirit of Australian and NZ Americana music. We encourage you to hit the links to read reviews, listen and buy any new discoveries you might make from our list of favourites, head to a show, buy … Continue reading
Back in May we shared this song from Pinto Bennett, from his album The Last Saturday Night and now he’s released this great, down-to-earth clip for it, featuring Eilen Jewell among the many guests. She sang on the album and her husband and bandmate Jason Beek produced it. Authentic, organic, humorous, old-school, dusty floor, honky … Continue reading
Sounds Of The Silver Screen Soundtracks always play a crucial part in establishing mood, location and emotion in film, and country and folk music is purpose-built for filling that role – whether it’s adding colour to a bar-room brawl, chronicling broken hearts or conveying the power and fragility of nature and the great outdoors. The golden … Continue reading
I love the laziness of this song. The way it gently unfurls and spreads itself across the speakers. It has that jangly 90s slacker aesthetic, wrapped up in a late afternoon, sunburnt afternoon kind of country vibe. Max and the Martians hail from New Orleans and are based around songwriter Max Bien-Kahn. ‘Please Hold On’ … Continue reading
Michael Waugh The Weir Compass Bros Records Michael Waugh’s last album The Asphalt & The Oval found him refining his blend of vivid Australian storytelling with impressive results. Now, just a year later, he’s picked up exactly where he left off, with another thirteen songs that use nostalgia in a rich and poetic way yet … Continue reading
Lost Ragas This Is Not A Dream Independent ★★★★½ On their their third album, Melbourne band Lost Ragas take their brand of psychedelic country music further out into the cosmos, though its title and various thematic references suggest the territory they’re exploring is our internal subconscious and its relationship with the realities of the modern … Continue reading
Fanny Lumsden, the hardest working Australian folk/pop and country singer/songwriter is back with her first new single since the release of her second album Real Class Act in 2017. ‘Peed In The Pool’ comes as she continues on her annual and epic Country Halls Tour (see poster for dates) which also took in a show-stopping … Continue reading
This new track from Ted Z & The Wranglers ducks and dives like a bantamweight boxer, switching musical stances, changing gears and dancing through melodies like nobody’s business. It’s a catchy slice of country rock from the Southern Californians that rides a twang groove and is augmented by some nice BVs and a sweet harmonica. … Continue reading
Sydney songwriter and avid Sharks supporter Sam Shinazzi is back with his first single in four years. The softly-phrased and melancholic ‘I Wrote A Book For You’ was used in the closing credits to the award winning Australian film Book Week and is the first taste of his sixth album, due in 2020. Descending chords, augmented … Continue reading
