It’s been five years since Gillian Welch released a new solo LP, though I guess we’ve been half-satiated with the recent Dave Rawlings Machine album. One hopes that this release is a stopgap collection to both celebrate the 20th anniversary of her debut Revival and reinvigorate her catalogue ahead of a new solo album. This … Continue reading
For the last decade Nick Payne has led Sydney folk and bluegrass outfit Dear Orphans across two albums and a ton of live shows. His debut solo album has him keeping one foot firmly in the Dear Orphans camp and the other heading into contemporary Americana. Payne presents the album as two halves, the first … Continue reading
Americana music, when it hits the mark, sounds modern and topical while honouring the country and folk ghosts of the past and James Kenyon has managed to corral his songs into an intriguing amalgam of just that. Kenyon’s style is comparable to the quieter side of Ryan Adams mixed with a hint of Bon Iver … Continue reading
Sturgill Simpson might be pegged as the renaissance man of modern country music but there’s a strong case for Texan Robert Ellis as the true heir to that throne. Over four albums he has progressively distanced himself from traditional country and delved deeper and deeper into a rich exploratory style of confessional songwriting. On this … Continue reading
Earlier this year Howe Gelb announced that Giant Sand were coming to a conclusion after 30 years stating, “30 years seems an adequate number to aptly utter ‘I kinda quit.” They released Heartbreak Pass in 2015 and are this year releasing a three volume vinyl boxset called The Sun Set. Gelb certainly isn’t wallowing in self-abandoned misery though. Instead … Continue reading
On August 1st, Sydney based alt-country duo Peasant Moon release a new mini-EP from their recording session in Austin earlier this year. The pair travelled to Texas in May and recorded at the Congress House Studio (you can read about their North American travels here). Of the EP, Crossfire particularly stands out for us with its … Continue reading
Brooklyn resident Greg Cornell finished recording his second LP Come On Home earlier this year and the first taste of it is the single Broken Wings, due out next month. The song features Cornell’s soaring, resonant voice, rich with emotion and riding high on the song’s pedal-steel driven and rolling country-rock vibe. Cornell and his band The Cornell Brothers have … Continue reading
Tracy McNeil showed flashes of brilliance on her previous album and she’s taken that one step further with a more consistent set of songs on Thieves. There’s a laid-back smooth quality to McNeil’s music that recalls US west coast FM rock of the late 70’s with warm harmonies, swaying guitar lines and a general uplifting … Continue reading
Drive-By Truckers have survived multiple line-up changes in their twenty year existence and yet they seem to be in possibly their strongest, most harmonious and richest streak of songwriting over the last few years. That prolific run of new music means that, following 2014’s English Oceans, we are about to get a new album American Band … Continue reading
We’re big fans of Ryley Walker here at PTW. He’s emerged over the last few years as part of the modern exploratory guitar movement that includes Steve Gunn, William Tyler, Cian Nugent, Chris Forsyth, Daniel Bachman and others. The common theme that runs through all of their music is a sense of freedom to follow … Continue reading
William Crighton has been gaining a reputation over the last couple of years for his solo and band performances that trade on intensity, honest songwriting and passionate delivery. There are country and folk influences at work in his music but it really boils down to the songs and the brooding yet melodic sounds he shrouds them in. … Continue reading
The Weeping Willows are set to release Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’, their second album, on March 4th and to celebrate they’re hitting the roads and airspace of Australia to perform for fans of their folk and alt-country music. Those twin harmonies, the balance of dark and light subject matter and Andrew Wrigglesworth’s mesmerising guitar picking make the … Continue reading
We’ve long championed Davey Craddock ever since we heard the brilliant single ‘Keep On Waiting’ back in 2012. The good news is that his debut album City West is ready for release on Feb 5th via MGM. Below you can check out the beautiful and haunting new single ‘Peaceful Bay’ with Craddock’s emotive and soaring voice trailing across the … Continue reading
Henry Wagons has long been the central figure, the larger-than-life masthead of the band Wagons for 15 years and six albums but now he’s stepped into solo mode for his debut album After What I Did Last Night… due out in Feb 2016 via ABC/Universal. The first single released from the album is ‘Cold Burger, … Continue reading
Friedman, the author and provocateur, has also been a musician since the early 1970s and finally, after 39 years, he’s recorded a new studio album. It’s a mix of Friedman originals and a raft of covers including Merle Haggard’s ‘Mama’s Hungry Eyes’, Bob Dylan’s ‘Girl from the North Country’ and a duet with Willie Nelson … Continue reading
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