Our latest reviews
Long Player Late Bloomer by Ron Sexsmith
Eleven albums in, Canadian troubadour Ron Sexsmith’s consistency continues to amaze. Sexsmith is a man possessed of that rarest of gifts: the uncanny ability to fashion a deceptively simple melody and lyric into something that can leave the listener floored…
Adalita, Self-titled album
Adalita’s self-titled debut solo album reveals a grungy, pared-back style to suit the sexy, rough voice that has been seducing Australians since her days in Magic Dirt. Produced in part by the late Dean Turner and starring some premier musical…
Great Barrier Grief by Oh Mercy
I recently got to see Oh Mercy play live. What struck me is how effortless they sound: they harmonise beautifully and their guitar sound is reminiscent of the best in sixties and eighties pop à la The Byrds or The…
The Wind that Shakes the Barley by Loreena McKennitt
In the couple of years since her last album, Canadian harpist and singer Loreena McKennitt has beenabsorbing herself in her love of traditional Celtic song. As usual, she is supported by the talented Hugh Marsh on fiddle and Catherine Lavelle…
The Gate by Kurt Elling
Kurt Elling can woo you with a tender ballad one minute, then just as easily blast you with some rapid-fire scatting. Here, he comes across as sincere, playful and ultimately very charismatic – his fans will be truly rapt with…
Bright Morning Stars by The Wailin' Jennys
This Canadian folk/roots trio is almost a genre in itself. All three members have spent the past three years with different projects (including motherhood for one of them) and were clearly fresh and up-for-it in the recording process. Transcending beauty…
Horses & High Heels by Marianne Faithfull
Horses & High Heels is solo album number 23 from the award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress. It was recorded in the New Orleans French Quarter in September and October of 2010 and features eight cover versions and four original…
Blue Skies by Helen Hodgman
This eerie, entertaining tale of suburban dissatisfaction in Tasmania (first published 1976) is the latest neglected Australian classic to be revived and championed by Text, following on from their successful rescue of Madeleine St John from relative obscurity. Danielle Wood…
Thirty Something And The Clock Is Ticking by Kasey Edwards
As someone who has recently started to become ‘clucked in the head’, I was happy to get my paws on a copy of Kasey Edwards’s tale of what happened when the question she’d been happily ignoring (whether to have a…
Mr Peanut by Adam Ross
Mr Peanut made a significant impression in the American publishing industry, and was described by The New York Times as a ‘daring, arresting first novel by Adam Ross, an author of prodigious talent’. It is a story about marriage –…
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