I’m still here. I’ve just been trying to cut down the time I spent on a computer, because I’ve had some rather unpleasant headaches and neck aches for the past couple of months. It looks like I’m not young anymore and the combination of doing exactly the same kind of manual labour each day and spending a lot of the free time online has not been ideal. No surprise there I suppose. Especially because I’ve almost neglected things like stretching and therefore my body has turned into a statue-like state. Thankfully naprapathy has already helped quite a lot and things are slowly improving. And well listening to beautiful music always heals the mind. Other than the J.E. Sunde album that I’ve been continuosly praising and that Anthony Atkinson record that has been the headline post for a while, I’ve been really into this one below.

Singer-songwriter John Davey’s new full-length album album Living Is Trying came out on Dilated Time Records on 7th of October and this magnificent album has been one of my biggest addictions lately. Even though my taste in music has drifted more and more towards folk and country music, I’m still a pop guy at heart. Maybe that’s why I like this so much. John Davey has a great sense for melody and the album Living is Trying is full of wonderful folk-tinged pop songs. This one is the first single Spent.

John Davey at Facebook

And then some rather exciting news. Hezekiah Jones are working on a new album and just started a Pledge campaign for it. I pre-ordered yesterday and I’m thrilled to hear a new Hezekiah Jones album sometime in 2015. They are a truly wonderful Philly-based folk collective led by Raphael Cutrufello. We still need to wait a a while for that new album to hit our hearts, so here are a couple of my old favourites. Borrowed Heart and Lift the Shadow From This Heart. I could listen to these songs all day long.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjHZuOZyelA]

Pre-order new Hezekiah Jones album at Pledge Music
Hezekiah Jones at Facebook

Australian Anthony Atkinson & The Running Mates are about to release a new album Broken Folks on October 17th and I’m honored to premiere their brand new music video for the song Calm & Collected. Anthony Atkinson is a big favourite of mine and we go way back. Well actually I’ve never met the guy, but I’ve spent hours and hours listening to the magnificent songs this lovely gentleman has written. The whole Candle Records scene was something that I held very dear in the early-00s and mid-00s (and still do). The Lucksmiths, Darren Hanlon and Anthony Atkinson kept on releasing amazing albums one after another back then. Anthony’s solo records Come Home For Autumn and Loyalty Songs were/are fabulous and the latter one even found its way to my top 3 on the albums of the year 2006 list.

But enough with all this nostalgia. It’s time to move back to 2014, because Anthony Atkinson is relevant right now and is about to release a wonderful new album. The Lost and Lonesome Recording Co are carrying the torch..or candle now and they are constantly releasing the finest Australian indie pop albums. They’ve already released fabulous albums from my old favourite The Zebras and new favourite The Icypoles earlier in the year and next Friday the new album by Anthony Atkinson & The Running Mates will hit the record stores and our hearts. I’ve had the chance to listen to the new album for a day or so. Some might say that it’s too early to make final conclusions, but I think Anthony and co have already won my heart over. It’s been eight years since Loyalty Songs came out, but Anthony hasn’t lost his perfect melodic sense and he definitely still has that ability to write amazing folk-tinged pop songs. Calm & Collected is a great outtake from the upcoming album and you can watch the new music video for the song below (camera and editing by Ben Mason). The album Broken Folks will come out on The Lost and Lonesome Recording Co on 17th of October.

Anthony Atkinson Website
The Lost and Lonesome Recording Co Website