This the second studio album from Young’s collaboration with Promise Of The Real, the band centred around Willie Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micah. The Monsanto Years was a much straighter country rock affair while The Visitor sets out for wider and more eclectic terrain, making it his best album since Psychedelic Pill. ‘Fly By Night’ … Continue reading
Dori Freeman only released her self-titled debut album in 2016 but she’s already gone and followed it up with Letters Never Read, an album that takes the template of her first release and adds greater warmth, soul and depth of writing. Freeman has again employed the services of Teddy Thompson as producer, and he in … Continue reading
Based in America for the last few years, Lo Carmen has slowly been absorbing that country’s country music, blending it with her atmospheric slowcore sound and emerging with beautiful new album that seamlessly connects both worlds. Lovers Dreamers Fighters is just what it says, a document of the highs and lows of relationships, the bruises … Continue reading
When Kyle Jenkins sings ‘I fell in love with your methadone eyes, upon the ground where we lied’, it gives you an idea of the territory that Suicide Swans are operating in – warts and all human emotion and experience. It’s tempered with a sympathetic and empathetic casting of Augusta’s characters and presented in a … Continue reading
Rising through the country and Americana ranks, Margo Price hit pay-dirt with her 2016 album Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, drawing critical acclaim from all quarters of the country world. Now she’s gone one step further on her new album, never pulling punches and wrapping it all up in a wonderfully wide-ranging classic and soulful country palette. … Continue reading
Melbourne’s Brooke Russell has one of those voices that, depending on your mood, that is comforting and makes everything feel alright or assists you in wallowing in your sorrow. Either way it’s a beautiful voice, full of rich tonal character that sways through the melodies and slow dances across the quietly mesmerising backing of her … Continue reading
Fanny Lumsden continues to go from strength to strength, building her fiercely independent brand of autobiographical country and folk music. Playing country hall shows, living and traveling in a caravan and covering all corners of Australia, she’s living as boldly as she’s working hard and this album, her second full-length, finds her documenting those adventures … Continue reading
Jed Rowe started his recording career with two albums under the name The Jed Rowe Band before shortening the moniker to just his own name for The Last Day Of Winter in 2015. Now he’s decided to further spotlight his personal talent as a songwriter and guitarist on the intimate and restrained A Foreign Country. … Continue reading
It’s been a long time coming but Melbourne’s Gretta Ziller has finally released her debut solo album, the followup to her Hell’s Half Acre EP from 2014. The good news is that it exceeds the expectations she set up with that fine EP, digging deeper and taking her songwriting and singing to some impressive and … Continue reading
Sam Beam returns with his sixth album and it finds him returning to his earlier sound where the music is stripped back, relatively unadorned and existing in it’s own unhurried world. By recording live, with minimal overdubs, Beam has ensured the focus is on a clear and detailed presentation of the songs, his warm and … Continue reading
As one of The Felice Brothers, Ian Felice has been the haunting, ragged and cosmic voice behind a rich discography of Americana music that straddles the contemporary and the archaic, with their lived-in sound and free-wheelin’ and free-spirited lyricism. Now Felice has followed in the steps of brother Simone (who left the band fairly early … Continue reading
Marlon Williams + Archer @ Oxford Art Factory, Nov 15th 2017 With a career that continues to go from strength to strength, this was a key and fascinating moment to hear and see Marlon Williams perform songs from his forthcoming second album Make Way For Love, ahead of its February release. Archer opened the evening with a … Continue reading
Robert Ellis and Courtney Hartman have teamed up for Dear John (Dec 8th), an album of ten John Hartford songs, paying tribute to the songwriter known for his solo performances where he would alternate between guitar, banjo, and fiddle while he tap danced and clogged on an amplified piece of plywood, John Hartford is credited as … Continue reading
STRIPPING BACK THE LAYERS Lindi Ortega has had a year of quantum change in her personal and professional life. Ahead of her current Australian tour she talked with Chris Familton about those important events and the reasons behind them. To the casual observer, one might see Lindi Ortega’s recently released EP, Til The Goin’ Gets … Continue reading
Covers albums can swing two ways, attempts at slavish replicas of the original songs or those instances where the artist recasts the songs in a new light, with their own personality and style at the forefront. Dan Brodie has successfully taken the latter route with a collection of songs that reveal some of his influences … Continue reading
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