The stars have certainly aligned for Lucero on this, their ninth album. It marks their 20th year as a band and was recorded by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Drive-By Truckers) at the auspicious Sam Phillips Recording Service studio in their hometown of Memphis. Most importantly, it stands tall as one of their strongest … Continue reading
Australian country music can stay true to its American roots and also sound like a product of its antipodean environment. While the big names chase the sales figures and follow well-worn formats there others that carve out a sweet niche of inner city honky tonk and heartworn laneways. James Ellis’ imagination was captured on a … Continue reading
Last week we posted the wonderful new track from Tracy McNeil & The GoodLife and this great new single from Swedish singer/songwriter Marlene Oak falls into the same musical sphere. It’s a perfect example of warm and melodic, 70s country rock with a pop heart. You can hear the Fleetwood Mac influence in the … Continue reading
Anna Elizabeth Laube was born in Iowa City, IA and raised in Madison, Wisconsin but now calls Seattle, WA home. In 2016 she released her fourth album Tree, which included the track below which has a new lease of life as a radio edit single in 2018. ‘I Miss You (So Much)’ is a wonderful … Continue reading
On ‘This Town’s A Drag’, Cordovas sound like Raised By Eagles covering Steely Dan in the basement of Big Pink. It has that backwoods charm with a certain element of studio polish under the eyes and ears of Kenneth Pattengale (Milk Carton Kids). The song comes from their recently released LP That Santa Fe Channel on … Continue reading
Skyscraper Stan has built a name for himself over the last few years as a beacon of songwriting on the Australian music landscape. He’s part of the Americana scene but he nimbly traverses the genre without pitching his tent in any one corner. He’s a little bit country, a connoisseur of folk music and an … Continue reading
Sam Newton has been steadily building a cache of songs across three albums and with each new release he seems to find a more intuitive and direct line to his muse. Stare Into The Dark peels back the layers to expose the gentle core of his songwriting, some wonderful instrumental touches and plenty of space … Continue reading
Real Ponchos hail from Vancouver, British Columbia and a couple of weeks ago they released their album Sunshine, a languid collection of nine songs that sway and shimmer via soul grooves and a light psychedelia that at times shares a similarity with the hypnotic qualities of Kurt Vile, albeit in a slower and more folk … 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
UK nine-piece The Gracious Losers recently released their debut LP The Last Of The Gracious Losers and it features ‘I Can Never Read The Signs’, the closing track on the rich and set of Americana music that draws from gospel, country and soul music. From Glasgow to Woodstock the line is drawn and followed with … Continue reading
Kyle Jenkins of Suicide Swans continues his golden streak of songwriting and prolific releases with this second single from his debut solo LP Meltdown. The track hits a bass-led groove and never lets up. Clever sonic details like a ride cymbal doubling down on the reference to smashing on the keys of typewriters and the … Continue reading
UK singer/songwriter Emma Miller has released the first single from her debut EP due out in the new year. ‘Merry Go Round’ is a rich swoon of a song that showcases her wonderful voice. It has hints of someone like Courtney Marie Andrews in its tone but it’s placed in more of an English folk … Continue reading
Jim Clements is set to release his new album A Failure next Friday (Oct 26th) and here’s a first taste of it with the track ‘Not A Lot Of Blood’, a beautiful, poignant song that is light of touch but heavy in emotional weight. To these ears he sounds like a blend of Cohen, Cave … Continue reading
Melbourne musician Ayleen O’Hanlon has a brand new single out now via the good folk at Blind Date Records. ‘Good As Gold’ is a change-up for Ayleen, more country rock than her previous folk leanings. It works brilliantly too. It’s tough and tender at the same time with an ebb and flow, a glorious … Continue reading
Riley Catherall hails from Canberra but is now a resident of Melbourne. He’s got an EP on the way, featuring Bill and Kasey Chambers and Kasey joins him on this beautiful track, ‘Robin’ – an ode to a red-breasted bird. He cites James Taylor, Neil Young and Jason Isbell as influences and you can certainly hear … Continue reading
