PICKING UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF Back in the saddle after Danny Widdicombe overcame leukaemia for the third time, The Wilson Pickers have reconvened to celebrate the simple joy of making music together. Sime Nugent chatted to Chris Familton about the circumstances in which the new album came about. In 2012 The Wilson Pickers were … Continue reading
Out of a dreamy mist emerges ornately plucked notes and the heavenly voice of Lucy Roleff. That’s how her album begins and continues over the next beautiful 36 minutes. Classically trained, the Melbourne songwriter sits in the same haunting, autumnal territory as Nick Drake, Aldous Harding, slow motion gothic country and occasionally the European icy … Continue reading
It’s been five years since Gillian Welch released a new solo LP, though I guess we’ve been half-satiated with the recent Dave Rawlings Machine album. One hopes that this release is a stopgap collection to both celebrate the 20th anniversary of her debut Revival and reinvigorate her catalogue ahead of a new solo album. This … Continue reading
With a songwriters poise and a natural sense of folk and country musicality, Violet Road is a far superior collection of songs to Sam Newton’s debut Set In Stone, which hinted at his potential. Newton focuses on a couple of themes on the album. Most prominently there’s a trio of songs (‘Hold You Down’, ‘Homesick’ … Continue reading
Daniel Lanois has long been associated with some of the biggest names in popular music such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, U2, Brian Eno and Emmylou Harris and though his own music is quite different in scope and form, it still shares the core aesthetic values of intellectual creativity and the desire to find something … Continue reading
For the last decade Nick Payne has led Sydney folk and bluegrass outfit Dear Orphans across two albums and a ton of live shows. His debut solo album has him keeping one foot firmly in the Dear Orphans camp and the other heading into contemporary Americana. Payne presents the album as two halves, the first … Continue reading
Pegi Young is back with her second solo LP Raw, her first since she divorced from her long-term husband Neil Young. Here’s the first single from it – ‘Too Little Too Late’. Raw begins with a song clearly addressed to her ex, ‘Why’, with the refrain “Why’d you have to ruin my life,”. The rest of … Continue reading
Americana music, when it hits the mark, sounds modern and topical while honouring the country and folk ghosts of the past and James Kenyon has managed to corral his songs into an intriguing amalgam of just that. Kenyon’s style is comparable to the quieter side of Ryan Adams mixed with a hint of Bon Iver … Continue reading
Between them, Glad Reed and David Claringbold have woven a path through the Australian music industry for the last thirty years. Glad has worked as a musician with Midnight Oil, The Cruel Sea, Laughing Clowns and many more while Dave has forged a successful career in production with acts including The Lighthouse Keepers and The … Continue reading
This is album number three for Sydney quintet The Ramalamas and it finds them successfully capturing their live sound in the studio. There’s a relaxed atmosphere and looseness of playing – in the best possible sense – that defines the spirit the band has, making this a freewheeling and fun album to listen, dance and … Continue reading
Losing a founding member can often throw a band wildly off course but in The Ramalamas’ case it opened up their sound and allowed them to draw on a wider set of influences for their third album East Coast Low. “The first two albums were very much in a country-rock vein and on this one … Continue reading
Over their career The Felice Brothers have applied broad brushstrokes to the Americana genre. They embody the rich meeting point of country, folk and bluegrass music – where the song comes first and the style is the framework upon which it sits. The latest album feels their most relaxed and natural in years. It rolls … Continue reading
Emma Swift has been based in Nashville in recent times but she still gets back to Australia and this time round she’ll be playing shows with partner Robyn Hitchcock. The shows will feature a solo set by Hitchcock with Swift joining him for a series of duets. The other exciting news is that the pair … Continue reading
After two decades as a musician, Darren Cross is finally releasing his debut solo album _Xantastic. It is his personal view of the world around him and in his typically unique fashion it draws influence from two seemingly contrasting musical styles in Bruce Springsteen and Kraftwerk. Sitting opposite Darren Cross in the Annandale Hotel … Continue reading
Earlier this year Howe Gelb announced that Giant Sand were coming to a conclusion after 30 years stating, “30 years seems an adequate number to aptly utter ‘I kinda quit.” They released Heartbreak Pass in 2015 and are this year releasing a three volume vinyl boxset called The Sun Set. Gelb certainly isn’t wallowing in self-abandoned misery though. Instead … Continue reading
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