FAVOURITE AU/NZ ALBUMS 2022
Alt-Country / ambient country / Americana / Cosmic Country / Country / News

FAVOURITE AU/NZ ALBUMS 2022

As always, it’s been another strong year for local releases in 2022, as artists find their feet again and cast their creative efforts out into the world after a couple of years of turmoil. Ahead of our main album list for the year, here are our eleven favourite Australian and Aotearoa/NZ albums for 2022. As … Continue reading

WELLINGTON’S SEA MOUSE THRILLINGLY BLEND BLUES AND ROCK
Americana / Blues / New Music / New Zealand / Rock / Stream

WELLINGTON’S SEA MOUSE THRILLINGLY BLEND BLUES AND ROCK

It may sound simplistic on the surface but there are all manner of influences lurking below the surface of Sea Mouse‘s song ‘Cold and Lonely’, the opening track on their new EP Evil Heart. Hendrix, The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Led Zeppelin, The Datsuns, garage rock and electric Mississippi blues. They approach all those … Continue reading

EMILY FAIRLIGHT & THE SHIFTING SANDS EMBRACE A RAW AND EMOTIVE SWAY ON ‘HEAD ABOVE’
Alt-Country / Americana / Folk Rock / New Music / New Zealand / Stream

EMILY FAIRLIGHT & THE SHIFTING SANDS EMBRACE A RAW AND EMOTIVE SWAY ON ‘HEAD ABOVE’

Emily Fairlight and Mike McLeod of The Shifting Sands blend their guitars and voices in a gloriously intertwined wash of sound on ‘Head Above’, the first single from their forthcoming collaborative LP Sun Casts A Shadow, out now via Fishrider Records. There are some wonderful stripped-back folk and alt-country qualities to the song as the … Continue reading

ALBUM REVIEW: Sin City – Welcome To Sin City
Album Artwork / Album Reviews / Alt-Country / Americana / Cosmic Country / New Music / Psychedelic / Rock / Videos

ALBUM REVIEW: Sin City – Welcome To Sin City

Check out the cover artwork for New Zealand duo Sin City’s debut album and you might be expecting a laidback Gram Parsons-styled cosmic country album, and there are elements of that, but at it’s core this is a rousing, loose-limbed blend of rock ’n’ roll, soul and country. From bar room brawls to late night … Continue reading

NEW MUSIC: HaydenGoSeek – The Great Unknown
Americana / Bluegrass / Country / Folk / New Music / Stream / Videos

NEW MUSIC: HaydenGoSeek – The Great Unknown

‘The Great Unknown’ is the latest single from New Zealand songwriter HaydenGoSeek (also the front person of Cheap Fakes) and it details his travels from smalltown New Zealand to living in Australia. The song is a bristling piece of melodic country-tinged folk that wins on account of Hayden’s vocal and the counterpoint fiddle that shadows … Continue reading

ALBUM REVIEW: SPERB3R – Think On Your Feet
Album Artwork / Album Reviews / Americana / Cosmic Country / Jazz / New Music / Psychedelic / Soul / Stream

ALBUM REVIEW: SPERB3R – Think On Your Feet

Lately I’ve been listening to and writing about the sound of ambient country music. I guess it’s the state of the world – but quieter, more ruminative and relaxing sounds have become even more important than ever of late. There are the traditional ambient go-to’s such as Eno, Harold Budd, Jon Hassall, Williams Basinski and … Continue reading

NEW MUSIC: A Straw Assembly – Lispenard St
Alt-Country / Americana / Cosmic Country / Folk / New Music / Stream / Videos

NEW MUSIC: A Straw Assembly – Lispenard St

You don’t hear a great deal of folk and country music coming out of New Zealand. It’s there for sure, and big names have certainly built local and international reputations (Marlon Williams, Tami Neilson, Tiny Ruins etc) but finding the next wave of artists can sometimes involve a bit of digging. This new track by … Continue reading

NEW MUSIC: Albi & The Wolves – This Is War
Album Artwork / Americana / Bluegrass / Folk / New Music / Stream

NEW MUSIC: Albi & The Wolves – This Is War

Hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, Albi & The Wolves hit a sweet melodic strain of folk music on their new single ‘This Is War’. It bristles and keens like dancing firefly, circling a relationship in dissolution and emerging with resolve and optimism. The acoustic trio will be over here in Australia in a couple of … Continue reading

ALBUM REVIEW: Darren Watson – Too Many Millionaires
Album Artwork / Album Reviews / Blues / Rock / Soul / Stream

ALBUM REVIEW: Darren Watson – Too Many Millionaires

Darren Watson is a stalwart of the New Zealand blues scene with a lineage in the bands Chicago Smoke Shop and Midge Marsden Band. Primarily he’s cut his teeth as an electric guitarist and singer so this acoustic record is a departure from the template and as a result it feels like a special project.  … Continue reading

20 Favourite Antipodean Releases of 2017
Album Artwork / Album Reviews / Americana / Features / News / Stream / Videos

20 Favourite Antipodean Releases of 2017

  2017 is pretty much done and dusted and it’s been another great year for Australian and New Zealand releases under the broad banner of Americana music. Our favourite album (and an EP) list takes in ethereal and eccentric folk music, raw alt-country, covers, spoken word and melancholic power pop – highlighting the range in … Continue reading