Tag: australian singer/songwriter

STREAM: Tim Hart, ‘The Narrow Corner’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Tim Hart
Hometown: Sydney, AUS
Album: The Narrow Corner
Release Date: February 2, 2018
Label: Nettwerk

In Their Words: “This record was written over about two years. Because of having to fit it in between Boy & Bear albums and touring, I recorded whenever I could and ended up playing a lot of the instruments on the album. Theme-wise, I wanted to focus on the slightly broken and hidden side of relationships rather than the sunnier, happier side. The odd one out in this sense is probably ‘All in All’, but I think it gives a welcome rest from the slightly darker songs. Sonically, I set out to blend folk production with slightly more current instrumentation…blending the banjo with synth, etc. I love experimenting in the studio and my solo records give me this platform, which for The Narrow Corner I really enjoyed.” — Tim Hart

‘Bittersweet’

Posted on by Editor

Five years in the making, Kasey Chambers' Bittersweet marks a change of direction for the Aussie native (who's already won considerable accolades for this record from scribes back in her homeland). It starts at the crossroads where Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska meets Emmylou Harris's '70s sweetness then picks its own path, barrelling down the road with the sincerity of Southern roots music, the veracity of '70s punk, and the shiny-object swankiness of American pop radio.

The opening cut, "Oh Grace," is a perfect archetype of the Harris-in-Nebraska observation, a sparsely populated song of bittersweet love set against a simple guitar strum, brushy drums, and a beautiful fiddle solo by Ashleigh Dallas. But then Chambers unveils "Is God Real" and adds a contemporary chime to the whole affair. It's an urgent appeal of uncomfortable agnosticism over a pulsing electric guitar, delivered in the voice of a lost little girl, with unbounded urban energy. "Wheelbarrow" turns in three directions in a New York minute, evolving from a gospel a cappella tune to a banjo-balanced back porch sing-along to a thrashing rock tune in a matter of about eight bars. Later, Chambers sticks close to the folkie format on "I Would Do," channels her inner Alphabet City punk on "Hell of a Way to Go," plays things a little on the bluesy side on "House on a Hill," then closes the record with the full-on Springsteen harp and hustle of "I'm Alive."

Though the influences here are broad-ranging , all the tunes work together — a testament to Chambers' compositional fortitude and producer Nick DiDia's steady hand. Like some other solid records we've heard this year from Hannah Miller, Laura Marling, and Jessie Baylin, this is what roots music sounds like at the most inventive edges of the genre.

Listen to the record here.

WATCH: Owen Campbell, ‘Breathing Bullets’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Owen Campbell
Hometown: Canberra, Australia
Song: "Breathing Bullets"
Album: Breathing Bullets
Release Date: August 19
Label: ROC

In Their Words: “I've had a rough couple of years. I guess it's about that — coming back to busking on the streets after touring overseas, feeling a little entombed by it. So this is the Phoenix rising, a recreation of oneself … Something along these lines?” — Owen Campbell

WATCH: Henry Wagons, ‘Head or Heart’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Henry Wagons
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Song: "Head or Heart"
Album: After What I Did Last Night …

In Their Words: "Nashville is a town full of some of the finest in music and booze. A musician's paradise! Its the perfect storm for getting in a real mess. 'Head or Heart' is a song about that time of the night when it becomes difficult to decide between your rational mind, or what's below the belt. The head or the heart." — Henry Wagons

Photo credit: Taylor Wong

3×3: Marcus Blacke on Tom Waits, Kurt Vonnegut, and Various European Destinations

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Marcus Blacke
Hometown: Wauchope, Australia
Latest Album: Marcus Blacke
Personal Nicknames: When I was about five, I was at school one day — I played a bit of football (soccer) — and, one particular lunch hour, I had a young stroke of genius. I asked my little friends to call me “Skid Mark” because I thought it was a super-cool idea. I arrived home that afternoon to my mother who broke out in a fit of laughter and explained the situation to me.

 

 

Doing film clips #marcusblacke #songwriter #folk #disturbedfolk #music #art #film #photography #song #newalbum #debut

A photo posted by Marcus Blacke (@marcusblacke) on

 

If you had to live the life of a character in a song, which song would you choose? 
“Tango Till They're Sore” by Tom Waits. Jumping out of a window with confetti in my hair seems like the best way I have ever heard someone to live life. 

Where would you most like to live or visit that you haven't yet?
Probably Berlin. Of all of the countries around this area of Europe, I really love the idea of them. I’d also love to be in Norway, Holland, Sweden, Iceland, or the Netherlands. I especially would like to visit Ireland, as well. 

What was the last thing that made you really mad?
Lots of things could make me mad. I try not to get mad as much as I can these days. I cried when the war in Libya began and I was really mad when our government proposed CSG gas fracking here in Queensland. I can't really take the world seriously, for the most part. I have to hide away in a refrigerator full of food. 

What's the best concert you've ever attended?
I saw the Dirty Three at the Tivoli. I cried, laughed, and smiled throughout the set. It was the best live show I will ever experience. 

What was your favorite grade in school?
I didn't really enjoy school. While I think it is important, I just think it could be executed in a better way. 

What are you reading right now?
Kurt Vonnegut, Sirens of Titan. It's one of my favorites. I love that there is a riddle about a man locked in a hotel room with all he needs to survive. He gets by eating the dates from the calendar and drinks the water from the springs in the mattress. 

 

Words thoughts. #words #art #songwriter #artist #marcusblacke #poetry #wordsmith #real

A photo posted by Marcus Blacke (@marcusblacke) on

Whiskey, water, or wine? 
Mostly water these days. I eventually came to the conclusion it's less detrimental. 

North or South? 
North. This question made me think of the Lord of the Rings, for some reason. So I would be the dwarf saying North. 

Pizza or tacos? 
Tacos. I like pizza but tacos are just more tacoey … I made up a word. 

LISTEN: Fallon Cush, ‘There’s a Dark Side to That Moon’

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Fallon Cush
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Song: "There's a Dark Side to That Moon"
Album: Bee in Your Bonnet
Release Date: May 20
Label: Lightly Toasted Records

In Their Words: “For my liking, last year, there were too many of those so called 'supermoons' — full moons which were unusually bright and spectacular due to the moon's proximity to the earth. It felt like stuff — bad stuff — was happening around these celestial events. It was one thing after another, so much so I grew to dread full moons. My sister called me on one of these occasions and said, 'There's something wrong, but I can't put my finger on just what it is, but I know that there is.' I knew the answer: It was that damn duplicitous moon overhead.” — Fallon Cush

Photo credit: Glen Hannah