Hailing from Amarillo TX but now Nashville-based, Jacob McCoy excels at cutting to the emotional core of his songs with concise lyrical elements, lilting guitar phrasing, heavenly pedal steel and piano, and a voice that balances grit and sweetness. ‘Rear View Mirror’ comes from his 2018 LP Questions. Continue reading
“I’m going to quit, just not today.” Great sounds from Mr Samuel Herb, a 25 year old singer/songwriter who originally hails from Jacksonville, FL. ‘Someone Else’s Dream’ fuses a swingin’ honky tonk with soul vamps and a killer New Orleans trumpet sound to wonderful effect. We look forward to hearing where Herb goes next with … Continue reading
TALES FROM TWO CITIES Jo Meares reveals the complicated process of recording his new album and how he learnt to embrace his own voice. By Chris Familton Over a series of albums, Jo Meares has slowly whittled away at his craft of songwriting and the delicate placement of those songs on atmospheric musical canvases. Dark … Continue reading
COWGIRL IN THE SAND, VOL. II (2018) Back in 2014 we put together a mixtape featuring many of our favourite female singers and songwriters. We had great feedback about it and so in this day and age of Spotify playlists we thought it’d be a great idea to put together a second volume, this time … Continue reading
This is a really nice slow-burn of a song. It slowly unfurls and reveals itself on the back of sparse guitar, distant organ and shuffling drums. Mike Powell‘s voice is the clincher though, with just the right amount of grit and grain in his tone to convey the heavy emotion of the song. A plaintive … Continue reading
LeBarons hit a Calexico vibe on this opening track from their new LP Summer Of Death. You can hear open desert roads, cacti standing tall in the setting sun and the melting asphalt beneath car tyres. It’s an evocative tune, a desert noir I guess. It reminds me of Sydney group The Morrisons in some … Continue reading
Kevin Welch has built a career both as a songwriter, respected and covered by his peers, and a solo and collaborative recording and touring artist in his own right. It’s his songs that are his calling cards, that and an open approach to the way he dresses and dances with each of them. On his … Continue reading
Here comes the break-up album. It’s a tried and true fallback for a million songwriters out there but only a small percentage really nail the heartache, despair, fallout and renewal that comes from a fractured relationship. Marlon Williams has taken an approach that doesn’t shy away from the bruises and open wounds, instead he presents … Continue reading
For Kevin Welch, it seems like a lifetime ago that he rolled into Nashville in the late 70s, one of the countless budding songwriters seeking fame and/or fortune. In the cut-throat country music capital it’s usually the best that survive and it wasn’t long before Welch became recognised for his songwriting and gained respect from … Continue reading
Album number three for Melbourne-based songwriter Matt Joe Gow and this one finds him hitting his stride with his most compelling and realised set of songs to date. Gow co-produced the album and it certainly sounds world class with space for the songs to breathe and backed up with some wonderful and stylistically varied playing … Continue reading
Mike Viola was a member of Ryan Adams band for a while (and has worked with a number of other artists) and you can certainly hear a shared kinship for strummed and sparkly guitars, classic riffs and strong and heady vocal melodies. This one sways along with a melancholic power pop sound, really nice song. … Continue reading
Delafaye is a singer songwriter from Louisville, KY who has a new EP out called Acid Tongue. It features an acoustic version of this song, ‘Time And Money’, which was originally released as a full band single in 2016. It’s a wonderful song, lilting guitar chords hanging in the air while Delafaye cuts to the … Continue reading
Frog are a band out of Queens, NYC and they mix up a cool blend of wonky, askew Americana. Firmly operating on the cosmic side of the tracks, without sacrificing song-craft and hooks, the duo released their new LP Whatever We Probably Already Had It a couple of weeks ago. You can hear bits of The … Continue reading
Kramies recorded the EP Of All The Places Been & Everything The End in an old castle with the help of Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), Todd Tobias (Guided By Voices) and Jerry Becker (Train). It’s a swirling, hypnotic dreamscape of a song that recalls Mercury Rev and a floating-in-space Perry Farrell-fronted Porno For Pyros. At its heart … Continue reading
Country music is so often built on voices, distinctive personalities that convey wisdom and experience. Willie, Waylon, Johnny, Dolly – iconic names that all had their own unique sound. Each new generation throws up one or two artists that join that illustrious company. Sturgill Simpson is a recent one that comes to mind. Another is Colter … Continue reading
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