The Horizon Just Laughed comes on the back of the loosely thematic trilogy of albums he recorded with producer and musician Andrew Swift. They were psychedelic in nature though still rooted in the folk form. In contrast, this feels like a retreat from the density and experimentation, to a place of reflection and solitude. Jurado … Continue reading
“I like you honey, being with you is like being alone”. It’s a line in I’ve Hurt Worse that sums up the lyrical concerns of Courtney Marie Andrews’ sophomore album in two ways. The rocky terrain of personal relationships and the mental health issues of modern society. If her debut was an impressive introduction to … 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
By now Justin Townes Earle has released enough albums and developed his songwriting to the extent where he’s found his own distinct corner of the country music world. He’s developed an identifiable sound, particularly in the effortless swing he places in his music and the way he delivers his lyrics – that fluid and melodious, … Continue reading
Sydney songwriter Taryn La Fauci takes a restrained and intimate approach on her debut album Cycling. She lays herself – her thoughts and emotions – bare on ten songs that have a folk feel in the acoustic instrumentation, paired with a classic singer/songwriter mood. Nothing threatens, with soft electric guitar shimmers, shuffling drums and a … Continue reading
Album number three for Melbourne’s Raised By Eagles and a further refinement of their lush, wistful and yearning country rock. Ironing out some of the creases of their earlier releases has resulted in a unified sound across the songs which are mostly only a few shades either side of mid-tempo. So much of it floats … Continue reading
Fallon Cush‘s Bee In Your Bonnet was a real highlight among the Australian album releases last year with their blend of power pop and country rock. They’ve backed it up with this new single ‘Long Shot’, the first taste of their forthcoming fourth album, which continues their love of chiming guitars and sweet melodies. Think … Continue reading
Old 97’s return with their 11th studio album and it finds them in fine form. From the opening frantic rattle and strum of ‘I Don’t Wanna Die In This Town’ they blast out the cobwebs and immediately re-establish their credentials as one of the pre-eminent alt-country bands – in the same echelon as The Jayhawks, … Continue reading
Rich Davies & The Low Road are heading out on tour through March and April, taking in regional and metropolitan venues in NSW, QLD and VIC. He’s touring his new album Ghosts which shines a light on human stories and social struggle, traversing foot-stomping epics to sombre ballads. Think Springsteen meets The Pogues, glorious and visceral folk … Continue reading
The term troubadour is bandied about as a kind of romantic notion of a songwriter riding the rails, traveling and singing for his supper. Josh Rennie-Hynes fits that description more than most singer/songwriters in Australia, regularly relocating to different cities and countries – all in the name of spreading his music and developing his songwriting … 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
Cash Savage trades in gothic and roots-based rock ’n’ roll that swings from funereal folk to surging widescreen workouts. There’s more range on One Of Us than previous albums. Run With The Dogs has a War On Drugs-styled pulse, Sunday Morning is a dirty, banjo-led folk song reminiscent of The Felice Brothers, Empty Page is … Continue reading
Here’s a really nice batch of songs written and recorded by James Elm. Voice and mandolin keeps things nice and sparse with focus on the songs, mood and Elm’s great bluesy voice. Continue reading
Bernie Griffen won plenty of hearts and minds with the dark and emotive alt-country of his last album Everything So Far (2012), accompanied by his band The Grifters. Now he has replaced nearly all of them with a new line-up called The Thin Men and jumped tracks to a rockier (in its many different forms) … Continue reading
Melbourne singer-songwriter Les Thomas has a new single out that is a barbed and thoroughly deserved reply to the caustically conservative 2014 Australian Budget. Protest in song is strangely missing at the moment, especially in a country where there is so much growing dissent against a socially, environmentally and morally bankrupt government. Let’s hope this song … Continue reading
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