UNDRESSING THE NATION In 2019, The Felice Brothers returned with some changes to their line-up and Undress, a new album that manages to address both personal and political concerns, all with their trademark poetic imagery and organic musicality. A year ago, in the aftermath of touring their album Life In The Dark, it was announced … Continue reading
THE ALT-COUNTRY ENIGMA THAT IS FALLON CUSH A strange name and an intriguing album title to match. Songwriter Steve Smith leads us into the shadows of Fallon Cush’s new album where its mysterious themes are matched a colourful sonic palette and infectious melodies. Fallon Cush – It’s a name that rolls off the tongue but … Continue reading
Sturgill Simpson Sound & Fury Elektra Records Sturgill Simpson’s last album, A Sailor’s Guide To Earth was a soulful, expansive and personal welcome-letter to his infant son. It was his first major step away from the traditional worlds of country and alt-country and showed he was someone prepared, and able, to follow his muse and … Continue reading
North Mississippi Allstars Up And Rolling New West Records The new album from Luther and Cody Dickinson’s North Mississippi Allstars was inspired by photos on a forgotten roll of film from the ‘90s. It got the brothers and their fellow musicians back into the studio, along with guests Mavis Staples, Jason Isbell, Cedric Burnside and … Continue reading
Dori Freeman Every Single Star Blue Hens Music The evolution of Dori Freeman continues on this fine third album from the Southwest Virginian songwriter. Her first was rooted in Appalachian folk but since then she’s added studio polish and incorporated wider influences (sixties pop, jazz balladry) and a lush and more nuanced sound. Teddy Thompson … Continue reading
Charley Crockett The Valley Thirty Tigers / Cooking Vinyl Australia Descendant of legendary frontiersman Davy, traveling troubadour and heart surgery survivor – Charley Crockett sure has a big back story. The most pleasing factor is of course his music, a lackadaisical country blues sound with a New Orleans soul swing to it, which he’s been slowly … Continue reading
The group harmonies and the rough and ready blend of country, bluesy rock and bluegrass from the Scottish group Bone Idle Bros are what caught our ear when we trawling the wild frontier of the internet for some new sounds. ‘Lately’, their second single, mixes things up but never overcooks things. It sounds just like … Continue reading
Paul Cauthen Room 41 Lightning Rod Records Out of misery and heartache comes great art. That seems to be one of the great recurring themes of all the artistic mediums. On his new solo album, Paul Cauthen has clearly lived and by the sound of it, learned from a particularly low period in his life … Continue reading
For a decade now, Dan Brodie has been a master at skirting around the edges of a number of musical genres. He’s taken from rock, blues, alt-country and rockabilly, combining them all into his own decidedly Australian take on rock ’n’ roll. It’s the sound of cold beer and back porches in the summertime, sweaty … Continue reading
The inimitable dusky, intimate dream charred voice of M Ward returns with the first taste of his forthcoming new LP Migration Stories, due April 3rd on Anti-. ‘Migration Of Souls’ is an ethereal, reverb-laden acoustic revelry that floats through the atmosphere as that voice sings “float through space and time…” and propels the gentle interstellar … Continue reading
Another year and the end of another decade of great music. Time flies but at least we’ve got a great soundtrack. As ever 2019 saw some wonderful new music released. There was the return of artists who had been on a hiatus of sorts – Bill Callahan, Crazy Horse and most importantly… David Berman (R.I.P.) … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Great news as we coast to the end of another year – DBT have a new album coming on January 31st via ATO Records and here’s the first single from it, ‘Armageddon’s Back In Town’. The Unraveling is Drive-By Truckers’ 12th studio album and first new LP in more than three years – the longest gap … Continue reading
Ramshackle, loose-limbed and groove-heavy countrified rock ‘n’ roll is the order of the day on ‘Gimme Gimme’, the new single from Brooklyn, NY band Mail The Horse. This thing fair gallops along with a ramalama Stones feel to it, complete with horn-accented swagger and sway. The song comes from their new self-titled album which is … Continue reading
Sydney trio The High Ceilings have released ‘On The Line’, the second single from their forthcoming LP Murrah Hall which is due to see the light of day early in 2020. ‘On The Line’ bounces along on the back of a parched and kicking harmonica and Ben Horder’s plaintiff ache of a vocal. Horder says … Continue reading
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