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
Lost Ragas This Is Not A Dream Independent ★★★★½ On their their third album, Melbourne band Lost Ragas take their brand of psychedelic country music further out into the cosmos, though its title and various thematic references suggest the territory they’re exploring is our internal subconscious and its relationship with the realities of the modern … Continue reading
COSMIC DREAMING WITH LOST RAGAS On their new album This Is Not A Dream, Melbourne’s Lost Ragas return with a new band member and their most realised set of songs to date. Shane Reilly provides a fascinating insight into the band’s collective sound and the recording of the new album. Lost Ragas are a band … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
An exciting start to a new week with the first taste of the new Lost Ragas album This is Not A Dream. The cosmic country sounds are firmly intact on this superb track with a rhythm section that punches hard and tight beneath the spiralling psychedelic guitars of Matt Walker and Shane Reilly. Great production, … Continue reading
Melbourne’s Lost Ragas have followed up their excellent Trans Atlantic Highway LP with a new 7″ honouring the memory of friend and fellow musician James Cruickshank (The Cruel Sea) who died a year ago. Where James Once Played is a co-write between Ragas’ Matt Walker and musician Neil Murray who was staying with Walker when … Continue reading
Given our general focus on Americana music in this part of the world we thought we’d publish our favourite local releases from Australia and New Zealand in 2015. Some of these will also appear in our main Americana albums of the year list but until then, here are local folk who released music that caught … Continue reading
If you’re in Sydney you might have been starting to get excited about a great day out in Western Sydney today at the Out On The Weekend festival. Of course that isn’t going to happen now that the festival sadly got cancelled earlier this week. It’s a sad state of affairs that a city this size can’t … Continue reading
Out On The Weekend was universally hailed as a success in its inaugural year in Melbourne in 2014 while Brisbane also had a version of it and Sydney was treated to a week of incredible sideshows. The great news is the expansion to include a full festival day in Sydney at Bella Vista Farm in … Continue reading
We updated our Sydney Gig Guide the other day and July is already looking like another bumper month. Tonight you can catch James Thomson and band at Gasoline Pony while our gig of the week is the sold out Marlon Williams (full band) show at The Basement on Saturday night. Head over to the guide to check out … Continue reading
Matt Walker has been a stalwart of the roots music scene for more than two decades now and with Lost Ragas he may have found his perfect musical marriage. The quartet truly embody the phrase ‘cosmic country’, serving up a sound that mixes classic country, power pop and rock n roll. It’s like Sturgill Simpson … Continue reading
This week saw some great new music hitting the internet with new tracks from Ayleen O’Hanlon, Joshua Seymour and the welcome return of Lucero. We also published reviews of the new and very fine album from The Deslondes of which we said: Their songs swing and rattle along with real ache and verve, never settling … Continue reading
Melbourne’s Lost Ragas set the scene early with a set that felt more low-key than some of their other recent shows but it was by no means any less captivating. Their sound was a widescreen take on soulful blues and country with flashes of Beatles-esque and 70s power pop. From tales of 1970s motorcycle daredevil … Continue reading
Lost Ragas debut album Phantom Ride (2013) crept on me slowly and it wasn’t until I saw them play it live that it really hit home how great their songs are and what a damn fine group of musicians they are. Fast forward to this week and the Melbourne band have released the first track from … Continue reading
Pulling a crowd for an Americana gig in Sydney can be a struggle at times yet the paltry turnout of a dozen people for a gig with a trio of fine, critically lauded acts was disappointing to say the least. To their credit the bands seemed relaxed and grateful for the enthusiasm of those in … Continue reading
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