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| Photo - Neilson Hubbard |
Rodney Crowell will release Airline Highway on August 29, 2025 via New West Records. The 10-song set was produced by Tyler Bryant and recorded & mixed by Trina Shoemaker in New Orleans, Louisiana. Crackling with live-wire energy, the album follows his 2023 Grammy Award-nominated The Chicago Sessions. The wise and vibrant Airline Highway features contributions from some of the most exciting young blues and country artists working today, all of whom count Crowell as a foundational influence.
Ashley McBryde co-wrote and sings on “Taking Flight,” Lukas Nelson co-wrote and sings the opener “Rainy Days in California,” Blackberry Smoke guitarist Charlie Starr sings on “Heaven Can You Help,” while Rebecca & Megan Lovell from Larkin Poe add harmonies and slide guitar throughout. With a career spanning more than fifty years, Crowell is still questioning how and why he makes music, still setting new rules and quickly breaking them. “This record is a document of me falling in love with these musicians,” says Crowell. “That’s one of the great perks of this job—falling in love with the people you’re playing with. And we caught that on tape.”
The album’s first single “Taking Flight,” is a devastating duet with Ashley McBryde about the distance between old lovers. Crowell says, “Ashley came over to the house to take a swing at writing a song together. ‘Flight’ is a fictional account of a discussion we had about stardom and driving at night in the south. With the exception of the Allman Brothers, I can’t say I was ever a fan of ‘Southern Rock.’ Tyler Bryant’s off the cuff solo at the end of the song made me reconsider.” Ashley McBryde says, “Simply sitting across from Rodney is magical. Writing a song with an icon is such an honor and being able to call him my friend is one of the great joys of my life. ‘Taking Flight’ explored heartache on a plane I hadn’t been on before. For Rodney to choose me as a co-writer and a singer is something that only existed in dreams. This record speaks for itself and I am so happy I get to be a part of its journey.”
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A tender yet powerful conclusion to the album's pre-release offerings, this country-tinged indie ballad serves as a heartfelt letter to her younger self, exploring the shift in perspective that accompanies confronting mortality. The track weaves seamlessly into the album's emotional narrative, which thoughtfully chronicles St Catherine’s Child’s journey through her father's passing. Her distinctively ethereal vocals float effortlessly above vibrant folk instrumentation, creating a captivating juxtaposition between the song's introspective lyrics and its spirited melody. The result is both a reflection on innocence lost and wisdom gained—a musical time capsule that resonates with anyone navigating life's inevitable transitions.
“This song is a letter to my younger self, wrapped up in the things that are important to someone before they’re faced with life and death” she adds “Everything at that moment felt so important, when all that really mattered was my Dad and how he showed up for me, and the people who had my back.”
‘The Other Side Of Twenty Five’ will be the final offering ahead of the release of St. Catherine’s Child’s debut album This Might Affect You, set for release June 2025. A chronological journey through her experience with her father's illness and subsequent passing, the album's A-side documents the period leading to his death, while the B-side explores the aftermath and her healing process. In a departure from her previous solo writing approach, St. Catherine's Child orchestrated a collective catharsis, collaborating with ten different songwriters who had also experienced recent loss. "I just didn't think I could manage it by myself," she reflects. "It was just too heavy. I feel so much deeper in my community now because we've all made this thing together."
Recorded live with Mercury Nominated Producer David Glover, and mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios the album embraces beautiful imperfection with unflinching honesty. "It's designed to be raw and organic and what it is—not polished," she insists. Shattering genre constraints, This Might Affect You sweeps across musical landscapes, featuring everything from a six-minute gun ballad to a sea shanty, a punk song, and a Springsteen-esque track.
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| Photo - Gabrielle Devereux |
This week Soft Bait, the band share their first single, 'New Leaf' a track that picks apart gossip, group dynamics, and the mess left behind.
As vocalist Josh Hunter puts it: “New Leaf is a song about gossiping, seeking social acceptance and connection among groups. People projecting their own sense of arrogance or insecurity onto others. The lack of self-awareness to understand — or care to understand — the effect of their actions as they move onto the next drama and hysteria. Leaving the subject to pick up the pieces.”
That tension runs through the whole track. Driven by a locked-in, repetitive bass line, the new single possesses an anxious and relentless energy. Hooky and sharp like it's pacing the room, 'New Leaf' is innately loud, unfiltered and fun. It holds a mirror up to some of the messier sides of social interaction; the messiness, posturing, gossip, and the chaos we leave in our wake.
The video, created by Patrick Hickley and Jolin Lee, takes those ideas and drops them into a dusty VHS wedding from the early-90s. Stitching themselves into the celebration as the unofficial wedding band — filmed lo-fi, green screen, digi-cam style. It’s part nostalgia trip, part fever dream. A weird, funny snapshot of connection, disconnection, and everything in between.
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Fresh off the back of their ABC Country high rotation and Double J/Triple J success, Gippsland based alt-country duo, Ally Row, release their new single, “Middle of The Road”.
This moody, gritty number captures the feeling of being emotionally marooned “between a rock and a hard place”, knowing where you want to be, but seeing others pass you by without asking if you need a helping hand. The upbeat airy arrangement and light-hearted, spirited vocals of “Middle of the Road” provide hopeful contrast as if to say, “if you’re going through tough times, you’ll get through it with or without help”.
Stylistically reminiscent of KT Tunstall’s “Suddenly I See”, it has the moodiness of “Nothing Matters” by The Last Dinner Party with a modern flare along the lines of Chappell Roan’s “The Giver”. The single features chugging acoustic banjo and guitar, warm and silky electric banjo plucking, and sweet, shy harmonies to support a lead vocal that is both emotional and powerful (think Missy Higgins texture and storytelling meeting Avril Lavigne’s intensity).
For the first time ever, Ally Row has featured the drumming talent of Alex Keser. His rocky rhythm gives “Middle of The Road” the beat of a runaway engine. This song will make you want to get in the car, crank up the radio and drive.
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