Singer-Songwriter

We have another instalment from Nashville troubadour Riley Moore with Pancakes and M&Ms. “This song is my boyhood on canvas. It’s about growing up in the country south of Nashville and fighting my three brothers to give dad the first hug when he got home from work.”

An album to listen to in the same stillness and hush in which it’s delivered, soaking up the sadness, the hope, the sense of a life lived, it’s a quiet resolution.

Circle of Chalk is taken from Ana Silvera’s sophomore album Oracles, a haunting yet life-affirming collection of songs. The lyrics tackle grieving, understanding and acceptance through folk legends, and Ana’s dynamic vocal style mimics this with the delicate yet theatrical prowess of Kate Bush. 

Powerfully sung in clear, distinctive tones,  it’s at moments like this that Browne soars above the comparisons and influences with a voice that’s very much her own.

Catching Scott Matthews at Newcastle’s The Clunny our writer is drawn into a reflection on his songs of loneliness and disconnection in an age where both are rife. A reminder of the part live music plays – to get the experience and emotion release you don’t get from a screen.

On Matchstick Men, a mingling of Celtic rock and quiet introspection shades much of the album, the songs steeped in reflection and a sense of unease with the present and who or what we are. Despite the self-doubts implicit in the title and many of the lyrics, there’s nothing rudimentary about this.

Annie Lou has become one of the true treasures of contemporary Canadian folk music, and the architect of a sequence of albums I cannot recommend highly enough.

There are layers of nostalgia in Hospital Hill, the new album from Jack Carty and Gus Gardiner. The nostalgia may belong to them in many ways but there is an evocation of times gone by that will strike a chord at some point or other with any listener.

One of the greatest strengths of this album is the sheer breadth and diversity of the music on offer, such is the eclectic nature of Fran’s song-writing. For those looking for originality and an alternative to the bland offerings of ‘mainstream’ singer-songwriters, then Wood For The Trees blows in like a breath of fresh air on a balmy spring day.

Freedom Girl was shot in the Haizhu District of Guangzhou, China, during the Chinese New Year Flower Festival and brings to life the cover and protagonist of Liv Lombardi’s Freedom Girl EP. The ‘singer’ is actually Liv’s identical twin sister, Ariana, who lives and works in China.

Arrow is an album of maturity, self-realisation and integrity. It is the album Ciara O’Neill had to make and without any ulterior motive or compromise. Most of all though, it is so musical! Ciara and her songs carry everything with such conviction, it makes her almost transparent.

Our Song of the Day is delivered by the rich baritone voice of Melbourne-based singer songwriter Ryan Downey accompanied by Zoë Randell for 1+1 from his debut album Running.