Honky tonk, hard country and outlaw combine for this rippin’ new single from Gethen Jenkins. There’s some great playing right across it, from lead guitar to pedal steel, backed by a swinging freight train rhythm section on this shuffling drinking song. Hell of a voice too – gruff and deep, in the tradition of Waylon … Continue reading
The Quill is a collective astral-folk orchestra based in London, headed by Nicky Francis. Nicky’s music is of a psych-folk sensibility, paired with grand pieces of explosive orchestral crescendo. Each track of the debut album The Tower at Hunter’s Moon (release due in the northern hemisphere autumn 2018), is characterised by large-scale rhythmic arrangements, silky strings and choir elements. … Continue reading
THE ROCKY ROAD TO HARMONY A caravan snakes its way across the Nullarbor; singer-songwriter, husband, toddler and Rascal the dog ensconced within as dust billows into the late afternoon air and a burning sun casts a warm glow over their travels. That’s the scene as Catherine Britt heads out on another adventure, just one of … Continue reading
Here’s the new single from JP Harris‘ new album Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing (due out October 5th on Free Dirt Records), co-produced by Old Crow Medicine Show member, Morgan Jahnig. The song rips and tumbles along, it’s a fun country-rock workout that details touring life with his band The Tough Choices. Fittingly it has a … Continue reading
SONGS OF THE SILVER SCREEN Twilight On The Trail is the musical intersection of a childhood of Saturday morning western movies and formative years spent on the edge of the Mojave desert. For Jen Mize and Mark Sholtez, their tribute to the great cowboy songs and crooners of the 1940s is a project forged in … Continue reading
SONGS FROM THE BROKEN RADIO “I was nominated for best new talent and I was in my 40s and everyone else was in their 20s so I was the oldest new guy in country music which was nice.” That’s singer/songwriter Michael Waugh discussing his nomination for Best New Talent at the 2017 Golden Guitar Awards. … Continue reading
There’s something about this lead track from Altameda’s (Edmonton, Canada) sophomore LP Time Hasn’t Changed You, due out in March, 2019 via Pheromone Recordings. It cuts across a bunch of different sounds – 70s FM rock, a country swing and strut and a big horn-led chorus, draped in gang backing vocals. It has that soul thing happening too, making … Continue reading
We’re pleased to premiere ‘Molly Meldrum’s Eyes’, the latest single and first video clip from Paul Andrews & Family Fold‘s new album Ashfield Skyline (with Nashville producer Brad Jones), due out on October 5th. The song has that wonderful wistful sound where alt-country meets astute and intelligent pop songwriting. It exists in the same realm of … Continue reading
Ry Cooder is the great circler, a musician who seems to have a hand in all manner of scenes and genres and the ability to drift between all of them seamlessly. He played on Captain Beefheart’s Safe As Milk, produced Buena Vista Social Club, scored film soundtracks and played guitar on The Rolling Stones’ Let … Continue reading
A nice, live-in-studio recording from Billy Bronsted & Feed The Dog that popped up in my feed this afternoon. No theatrics necessary, just a very good song built on a loping melancholic melody with some fine playing from all involved. Bronsted is a singer/songwriter from Wisconsin who released his first album, This Bed Of Mine, … Continue reading
One day, in her late teens, Tori Forsyth wrote a composition that she considered her first proper song. It was that song, ‘Johnny And June’, that she played to producer Trent Crawford and began the journey that led first to her debut EP and now her full length album, Dawn Of The Dusk, produced by … Continue reading
The brothers Crannitch were the core of the band Leader Cheetah who achieved a modicum of success and critical acclaim across two albums close to a decade ago. Now, after years spent living in different countries, the pair have reconvened as The San Sebastian. Fans of the former will find to still plenty to love … Continue reading
PAYING HOMAGE TO OBSCURE BLUES Eilen Jewell recently visited Australian shores for a run of shows showcasing her album Down Hearted Blues, but as she reveals to Chris Familton, she’s already been in the studio working on her next album of original material. It’s an overcast spring evening in Boise, Idaho when Eilen Jewell answers the … Continue reading
In this day and age, country music is a different and multifaceted beast to what it was 80 years ago. Back then, in simpler times, the music reflected tales both true and imagined about day-to-day life, heroes and adventures. The likes of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Sons of the Pioneers ruled the wireless and … Continue reading
The Band’s Music From The Big Pink is generally considered a cornerstone of what has become known as Americana music. With it’s loose, ramshackle approach to country and folk music it served as inspiration for generations of musicians that followed and continues to amaze first-time listeners to this day. To mark the album’s 50th anniversary, … Continue reading
