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
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
“I like you honey, being with you is like being alone”. It’s a line in I’ve Hurt Worse that sums up the lyrical concerns of Courtney Marie Andrews’ sophomore album in two ways. The rocky terrain of personal relationships and the mental health issues of modern society. If her debut was an impressive introduction to … Continue reading
Lucero are back with a new album scheduled for release on August 3rd via Liberty & Lament/Thirty Tigers. Among The Ghosts will be their ninth LP and marks their 20th anniversary as a band. It sounds like they’ve gone for a tantalising blend of the big, live and loose sound based on ‘For The Lonely … Continue reading
His debut album heralded the arrival of a timeless and exciting new country and folk voice, yet for Marlon Williams he’s only just starting to realise his songwriting ambitions with the baroque pop sound of his new album Make Way For Love. Down the phone line from New Zealand, Marlon Williams has just landed at … Continue reading
Ruby Boots today releases her new single ‘Believe In Heaven’, ahead of her imminent return for three full band shows in Australia (see tour poster below). Bex says, “This song is about desire, so I wanted to create a world of what I thought my desire would look like at the time when I … Continue reading
Dori Freeman only released her self-titled debut album in 2016 but she’s already gone and followed it up with Letters Never Read, an album that takes the template of her first release and adds greater warmth, soul and depth of writing. Freeman has again employed the services of Teddy Thompson as producer, and he in … Continue reading
Ben Mastwyk is currently a busy gent with a run of interstate shows with Luke Elliot (USA) and today he’s sent the video clip for new single ‘This Country’ out into the world. It’s a great horn-led slice of honky tonk and country groove, matched by an equally fine video complete with gold satin jackets, … Continue reading
Hurray For The Riff Raff, Slow Dancer @ Factory Theatre, March 26th 2018 Back for the first time since their Newtown Social Club show in 2014, Hurray For The Riff Raff were upsized to the much larger Factory Theatre, an overly ambitious punt by the promoter given that their profile hasn’t risen greatly in the intervening years. … Continue reading
NASHVILLE DREAMS AND WHISPERING TREES Lo Carmen has imagined making her Nashville album since she was a teenager and now that dream has come true with Lovers Dreamers Fighters, an album written in rural Georgia and featuring a duet with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. Lo Carmen and her family have been based in the USA for … Continue reading
Based in America for the last few years, Lo Carmen has slowly been absorbing that country’s country music, blending it with her atmospheric slowcore sound and emerging with beautiful new album that seamlessly connects both worlds. Lovers Dreamers Fighters is just what it says, a document of the highs and lows of relationships, the bruises … Continue reading
Since her 2014 debut album Solitude, Ruby Boots (Bex Chilcott) received the Australian Government’s Council for the Arts’ Nashville Songwriter Residency grant, packed up her belongings, headed to the USA, wrote her new album and recorded with the Texas Gentlemen as her backing band. Don’t Talk About It is a leap forward for Chilcott, both … Continue reading
Melbourne’s Brooke Russell has one of those voices that, depending on your mood, that is comforting and makes everything feel alright or assists you in wallowing in your sorrow. Either way it’s a beautiful voice, full of rich tonal character that sways through the melodies and slow dances across the quietly mesmerising backing of her … Continue reading
Since The Black Crowes finally closed the curtains at the start of 2015, Chris Robinson has continued to embrace his new lease of life with his band of soulful and psychedelic, country and blues-rock travellers in Chris Robinson Brotherhood. Barefoot In The Head is their fifth album and it again showcases their effortless musical synergy … Continue reading
Marlon Williams + Archer @ Oxford Art Factory, Nov 15th 2017 With a career that continues to go from strength to strength, this was a key and fascinating moment to hear and see Marlon Williams perform songs from his forthcoming second album Make Way For Love, ahead of its February release. Archer opened the evening with a … Continue reading
