duggup

Paper People, don’t know what to make of them. A bunch of guys from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland who began by jamming on an old mandolin.
The tracks are raw, lacking in polish and badly mixed. The vocals at best are impassioned, the level of musicianship leaves a lot to be desired but and [...]

A colleague told me about a movie called “Once” and the then up coming tour of this duo who starred in the movie. After that it all got complicated. I rediscovered the track this evening and thought it might make a fine beginning to the week with their romantic and gentle love songs.
Glen Hansard is [...]

Friday night and here is a Duggup to brighten the gloomy skies over Melbourne, bring a sparkle to your eye and a tapping to your feet.
By way of Oslo in Norway come the band called Dead Hoolums. Very much alive I fear and from what I can suss out about them, admittedly not much [...]

I know, I know, Leonard Cohen is not a new artist in any one’s reckoning, but to be fair I have some music to review and I just can’t do it at the moment because Leonard has taken over my head.
So, that being the case and because Thatch hasn’t done it yet, I thought “what [...]

Another weekend is about to begin and so it should start with a bang. Try this outfit and they will thrill you with picking, strumming and clawing banjos galore. The name of the band gave me pause, but it was worth investing the time into listening to them.
They are from Austin, Texas and play [...]

Circus Envy are from Hull in the UK and as their website tells us:
Circus Envy are a rootsy five piece based in East Yorkshire, with a sound equally influenced by classic rock, folk rock and Americana.
Diverting from the mainstream by using instrumentation as exotic as the cajon, and the bouzouki, Circus Envy delight audiences [...]

Wendy Ealey has a voice that takes me back to smoke filled folk venues of Melbourne 30 odd years ago. With good reason, she has been a performer on the folk scene both in Australia and in Britain since the 70’s.

Hers is a big beautiful voice that resonates with passion as she sings songs penned by herself and others accompanying herself on guitar. Political songs nestle comfortably with love songs to form a quilt of human experience.

A song written by Mary Caruana with Brent Parlane called “Bigger Than This” can be found on on her MySpace site, is a ballsy dig at the treatment of “illegal” immigrants. “Child of My Heart” is the story of grief felt by an infertile woman.