NSW Central Coast songwriter Mark Moldre has come along way since his early releases with his band Hitchcock’s Regret in the early 2000s. Now four albums deep into his solo career, he continues to refine and develop his craft of songwriting, arranging and playing, and on the new album Nambucca Fables he dives deep into … Continue reading
Category Archives: Folk Rock
ALBUM REVIEW: Watty Thompson – S/T
WATTY THOMPSON WATTY THOMPSON CHEATIN HEARTS RECORDS It’s a rare thing for an artist to arrive on the scene as fully formed and creatively realised as Victorian Watty Thompson. Most songwriters take a few albums to figure out how to craft their music into its ideal shape. Thompson has done it on his first swing. … Continue reading
MINOR GOLD TAKES A SURREAL AND MAGICAL TRIP ON THEIR NEW IRRESISTIBLE SINGLE
Minor Gold create their own offbeat, folkloric universe in the video for their song ‘Don’t Change’, the third single released from their upcoming debut album. The characters in the clip represent classic opposites and ultimately offer the conclusion that only love can conquer all. It’s a take on the classic fable, but it’s one you can dance … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Steve Lane – The Great Imposter
STEVE LANE THE GREAT IMPOSTER Last Night From Glasgow The day I put Lane’s new LP – and yes, it’s vinyl, and sort of camouflage green at that – on my turntable, on his Facebook he announced the fact, as much a surprise to him as to his followers, that The Great Imposter is #8 … Continue reading
VIDEO PREMIERE: The Settlement – Streets Of L.A.
Melbourne group The Settlement are currently working towards the release of their second album, releasing a string of impressive singles along the way. Today I’m very happy to be able to premiere the video for their latest track, ‘Streets Of L.A.‘ which was released a few weeks ago. The dark and moody song was written … Continue reading
SINGLE PREMIERE: MFV – Twin Cowboy
MFV are a six-piece band hailing from the Wollongong area who first began as life-long friends jamming in various garages and halls south of Sydney in 2019. Some of the members also play in shoegaze band Miners (check out their self-titled 2021 album) and you can definitely hear the textural nuances and dynamics of that … Continue reading
NEW VIDEO: Anna Weatherup – The River
I was lucky enough to catch Anna Weatherup live at Dashville Skyline recently and she played an impressive set of soulful multi-genre songs, all sharing a rich vein of emotive, world class songwriting. Last week she released her new single ‘The River’ and last night the excellent video clip for the song premiere on YouTube. … Continue reading
CJ STRANGER RELEASES SOARING NEW SINGLE ‘YOU MAY RUN’
Following on from his excellent 2020 album Hey Stranger (and a subsequent single and EP), CJ Stranger has released the soaring and intricate new single ‘You May Run‘. At first glance it’s an upbeat folk rock sound but it quickly reveals multiple layers and dynamic twists and turns. The rhythmic strumming is reminiscent of some … Continue reading
EMILY FAIRLIGHT & THE SHIFTING SANDS EMBRACE A RAW AND EMOTIVE SWAY ON ‘HEAD ABOVE’
Emily Fairlight and Mike McLeod of The Shifting Sands blend their guitars and voices in a gloriously intertwined wash of sound on ‘Head Above’, the first single from their forthcoming collaborative LP Sun Casts A Shadow, out now via Fishrider Records. There are some wonderful stripped-back folk and alt-country qualities to the song as the … Continue reading
THE HERMIT WEAVE SOME ENGLISH FOLK MAGIC ON ‘SARAH WEARS HER PAINTED HAIR’
Hailing from Liverpool England, the folk trio The Hermit reimagine traditional Irish tunes and Old English ballads alongside their own compositions with a thread of improvisation running through the music. Across six minutes on ‘Sarah wears her painted hair’, Charlie, Lynny and Michael take a languid and exploratory journey through hypnotic and lightly psychedelic folk. … Continue reading
TEDDY AND THE ROUGH RIDERS HONOUR LITTLE RICHARD ON NEW SINGLE
If you’re a fan of classic melodic country/folk rock then this new single from Nashville group Teddy and the Rough Riders should hit the spot nicely. It comes from the band’s forthcoming self-titled, Margo Price-produced album, out July 1st via Appalachia Record Co. Teddy and The Rough Riders’s loving ode to the man—and the stories … Continue reading
INTERVIEW: The Creative Flow of River Dreams
For River Dreams’ debut album Small Paintings, the pandemic served as the impetus, rather than a deterrent, for recording sessions to take place. Sydney musician and songwriter Carl Manwarring had been playing around the city’s Inner West bars, pubs and bowling clubs under his own name for a number of years, following an initial foray … Continue reading
VIDEO PREMIERE OF MATT JOE GOW’S LATEST SINGLE ‘SWEET COLLAPSE’
Melbourne-based NZ singer-songwriter Matt Joe Gow released his new single ‘Sweet Collapse‘ a few weeks ago and now we’re extremely pleased to be able to premiere the video for the song, directed by Regan Wood and filmed on the coast near Gow’s house. ‘Sweet Collapse’, the second single from the upcoming fourth album Between Tonight … Continue reading
M.E. NETZKE GETS FULLY TICKLED PINK ON HIS SWEET AND MELANCHOLIC NEW SINGLE
Pedal steel tears cascade across this new single from Canadian M.E. Netzke. ‘Fully Tickled Pink’ has a baroque folk feel, bringing to mind the likes of Ron Sexsmith and a more subtle and cosmically inclined Rufus Wainwright as it washes over you with its psychedelic drift. Supremely melancholic, it subtly touches on Brian Wilson-esque west … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC from Canadian songwriter Jenny Berkel
Delicate and graceful finger-plucked acoustic guitar notes fill the air before the rich and warm resonance of Canadian Jenny Berkel‘s voice emerges from the melancholic swirl of her new single ‘You Think You’re The Rain‘. That low-key introduction segues beautifully into a full band sound with a strong rhythmic push and pull and cosmic folk-rock … Continue reading