” It’s a road anthem and a driving song penned in motels and hostels and highways on the route between Brooklyn, NY and Nashville.” We’re suckers for this kind of sound. Laidback, softly strummed acoustic guitar with some pedal steel casting a melancholic shadow over proceedings. Hayes Peebles really hits the mark with this single … Continue reading
There’s a nice bluesy and folkish soul groove to this track from David Place. He’s an Australian singer-songwriter based in Italy and this track brings to mind songwriters such as Jason Molina, Davey Craddock, Jo Meares and Perry Keyes with it’s stark and emotive treatment. The song comes from his 2019 album Rollercoaster, his third … Continue reading
Sweet pastoral sounds abound on this new slice of Americana from Party Of The Sun, the musical project of New Hampshire songwriter Ethan McBrien and producer/multi-instrumentalist Rory Hurley. ‘Slide Away’ has a weightless quality that brings to mind the clear-mindedness of an early spring morning, built on lightly strummed acoustic guitars and melodies that drift … Continue reading
Bug Martin is a Philadelphia-based songwriter who has just released his new album Gutterball via Pyrrhic Recordings. Here’s one of the tracks, ‘Bartender’, an ode to many a person’s saviour and/or downfall. Over sparse acoustic guitar, banjo and pedal steel Martin sings in a haunting twang, an afterthought of a voice from another time, calling … Continue reading
Here’s a new track from NYC-based songwriter Don DiLego. He’s certainly got a classic sound that has the forlorn and melancholic aspects of Americana but also a discernible crafted pop/rock element to it. The chorus heads skyward like one of those golden Ryan Adams melodic swells as the rest of song dances around it with … Continue reading
The married duo Brightwire released their new album A Place To Call Home last month and one of the highlights of it that came to our attention is the track ‘Crystal Beach’. Across five minutes the Southeastern Texas pair carve out a wonderful slice of acoustic alt-country. Both gritty and heartfelt, it combines guitar and … Continue reading
Rocky Bottom is the work of Alex Hernandez who hails originally from New Jersey but made the shift to Nashville and dove deeper into country and folk music after earlier years dealing in a more punk-framed sound. His latest album, Mr. Nothing follows the more acoustic offering American Man and finds his songs further fleshed out … Continue reading
THE LIFE OF A BIG BOSS MAMA The Australian market is becoming more of a priority for Tami Neilson, she’s was recently here in May for the Blues On Broadbeach Music Festival and now she’s set to return for the Dashville Skyline and Out On The Weekend festivals. Chris Familton gets the lowdown on all the … Continue reading
James Thomson returns with ‘Desire’, his wonderful new single from a forthcoming album. The song drifts along on a warm current of air that sounds like it’s a southern cousin to the Tulsa sound – smooth and hypnotic. It’s a bit more direct sounding than some of Thomson’s previous releases and as always those melodies really … Continue reading
Big Thief U.F.O.F. 4AD What started with a debut album in 2016, that introduced a fragile and poetic songwriter and her band, has blossomed into a fascinating and quickly evolving career for Adrienne Lenker and the rest of Big Thief. They’ve been touring relentlessly, Lenker even having time to record a well received solo record … Continue reading
Tiny Ruins Olympic Girls Milk! Records “We were only inches away but still I had a long way to go” sings New Zealander Hollie Fullbrook on the opening title track of her new album. It’s a hallmark of Tiny Ruins songs, those lines that hang in the air with poetry and grace, cutting to the … Continue reading
Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Albi & The Wolves hit a sweet melodic strain of folk music on their new single ‘This Is War’. It bristles and keens like dancing firefly, circling a relationship in dissolution and emerging with resolve and optimism. The acoustic trio will be over here in Australia in a couple of … Continue reading
Purple Mountains Purple Mountains Drag City / Spunk When indie rock and Americana music crossed paths and found common ground in the 90s, a group of songwriters emerged who shaped exquisite songs from literate, clever, dark and humorous poetry – blending it with electric and acoustic instrumentation. It was a new kind of country rock and … Continue reading
Slow and sad folk music is something we love and Canadian Zach Kleisinger fits the bill perfectly with a sound that recalls Tindersticks, Dan Michaelson and Will Oldham. There’s a twist of country in the mix as well, in the way the song rolls along with a pastoral quality amid the harmonica and pedal steel … Continue reading
Jim Lauderdale From Another World Yep Roc Records By all accounts this is Jim Lauderdale’s 32nd album and it follows hot on the heels of last year’s excellent record Time Flies. From Another World shares many sonic similarities with its predecessor but as the title suggests there’s even more of a cosmic vibe to these … Continue reading
