2019 delivered another bounty of homegrown treats in the form of full-length albums that captured the range and spirit of Australian and NZ Americana music. We encourage you to hit the links to read reviews, listen and buy any new discoveries you might make from our list of favourites, head to a show, buy …
The Cryin’ Pedal Steel You’d be hard pressed to find an instrument so intrinsically linked to the sound of country music as the pedal steel guitar. Acoustic guitars and fiddles are ubiquitous instruments that cross a number of genres but for the pedal steel, country music is its undeniable home. Developed from the lap-played Hawaiian …
D.C CROSS ECSTATIC RACQUET No Drums Records D.C Cross is the latest chapter in the career of Darren Cross, he of Gerling fame and more recently as a solo artist and one half of the folk noir duo Jep and Dep. His solo albums have been sonically varied affairs with alt-country, folk, electronica and psychedelic …
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 …
1969: A Watershed Year For Americana Music Half a century ago, in a single calendar year, an avalanche of albums were released that would go on to have a lasting and monumental impact on what would become known as alt-country and more recently Americana music. Looking back at 1969 and pursuing the list of albums …
SONGS OF TRIBUTE For my Waitin’ Around to Die column in Rhythms I recently took a look at some of the outstanding releases in the field of tribute albums. Specifically those that fall under the umbrella of Americana and alt-country, whether it’s in recognition of an artist’s body of work or a fundraiser to assist them …
THE MIRROR OF TRUTH On his new album The Crossing, Alejandro Escovedo takes an unflinching and poetic look at America and the immigrant experience. By Chris Familton Alejandro Escovedo has been surrounded by music his entire life. His father played and listened to Mexican music, his mother loved big band jazz music and his rocker …
Anna Smyrk shot the video clip for new single ‘Alight’ in an abandoned mansion over in Tagaytay, Philippines and the setting is a wonderful match for her music which resides in lush surrounds where historical folk music tropes filter through traditional instrumentation yet the song still sounds contemporary with her weightless vocal and some sublime … Continue reading
Tiny Ruins, Steve Gunn, Andrew Tuttle Red Rattler, Marrickville NSW November 24th, 2019 In the open warehouse space with its concrete floors, acoustic guitar strings ring out in fingerpicked melodies, notes woven together in a mantra-like fashion and underpinned by an ambient and vaguely disorientating bed of digital sound and field recordings. Andrew Tuttle sits … Continue reading
Sounds Of The Silver Screen Soundtracks always play a crucial part in establishing mood, location and emotion in film, and country and folk music is purpose-built for filling that role – whether it’s adding colour to a bar-room brawl, chronicling broken hearts or conveying the power and fragility of nature and the great outdoors. The golden … Continue reading
Dan Brodie has made a foray into directing his own video clip for ‘When We Turn To Dust’, one of the many highlights from his new album Funerária Do Vale. Joined by Chris Brodie on guitar and the mysterious Danielle Golding on vocals, the video was shot in one night at Body Electric Dance Studios in … Continue reading
PTW is very pleased to present the brand new single and video clip for Charm Of Finches‘ ‘Lies‘, taken from the forthcoming album Your Company (Nov 27th), recorded with acclaimed producer Nick Huggins (Jen Cloher, Bonnie “Prince’ Billy, Laura Imbruglia). On the new single, the Melbourne sister chamber folk duo (Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes), who … Continue reading
New York native and now Nashville resident Hayes Peebles is on a roll with this current run of singles. We recently posted the fine ‘Riding High’ and now he’s backed that up with the widescreen and effortlessly catchy ‘Riddle Me’ that sounds like Ron Sexsmith on a euphoric country rock bender. The song was sparked … Continue reading
Cave Flowers nail that freewheeling’ guitar sound we love so much. Gritty country and grainy rock ‘n’ roll mixed and agitated into one rambling groove. Top vocal sound from Andy McAllister too. It all adds up to a glorious Rolling Stones meets Drive-By Truckers and Lucero sound. Originally from Seattle, McAllister released three albums with his … Continue reading
A swampy shimmer underlies acoustic guitar and the wonderful voice of Ben Mitchell as he sings of ignoring the things you can’t control in life and giving into the flow and destiny of existence. It’s a simple song musically – and I mean that in the best possible way. The elements are all there, reduced … Continue reading
Today we give you the recent single from British songwriter Lawrie Duckworth. You wouldn’t necessarily pick him as hailing from that side of the Atlantic, given the swampy blues noir vibe that emanates from this track. Dig a bit deeper though and you can hear a surf tinge and a distant nod to The Shadows. … Continue reading
Some songs float along with a weightlessness, a gentle tangle and flow that sounds elevated, lightheaded and dreamy. John Salaway‘s ‘It’s All In Your Mind’ is one of those ones. With the sound of CSN deeply embedded in its DNA, the song rides linear and rhythmic, finger-picked acoustic guitar and some evocative strings. The Beatles … Continue reading
“We are just a simple devil-lovin family that play bluegrass and folk tunes about the hills and rivers we’ve roamed, the things we’ve seen and the stories we’ve been told.” Sydney folk and bluegrass trio Shelley’s Murder Boys have recently released their brand new album Above Is A Roar and one of its standout tracks is … Continue reading
Last Chance Family Band hit the highway on their new track, a ripping roots-rock excursion that finds a boogie groove and drives it home with some great vocal harmonies. Top stuff with its blend of loose limbed, late night rock n roll and country chooglin’. The band hails from Seattle and is comprised of brothers … Continue reading
It’s been a long time coming but man it’s worth it to have this brand new single from Sydney songwriter Caitlin Harnett. ‘Make You Feel Blue’ comes from her new album, set for release in the new year. It’ll be her second full-length, the first featuring her band The Pony Boys. The single is a … Continue reading
I love the laziness of this song. The way it gently unfurls and spreads itself across the speakers. It has that jangly 90s slacker aesthetic, wrapped up in a late afternoon, sunburnt afternoon kind of country vibe. Max and the Martians hail from New Orleans and are based around songwriter Max Bien-Kahn. ‘Please Hold On’ … Continue reading
TALL TALES FOR DARK TIMES Skyscraper Stan reveals why his new album is called Golden Boy Vol. I and Vol. II and discusses the joys and frustrations that come with committing to a life in music. Stan Woodhouse has always performed under the name Skyscraper Stan, ever since staff at the Wine Cellar in Auckland, … Continue reading
