We don’t often feature albums from groups (rather than solo artists), and it’s rare for us to carry discs from Australian acts, so this disc from ‘The Hired Guns’ a five piece band from Melbourne is a welcome diversion from the norm.
The band plough a unique alt-country furrow, although there are influences clearly visible throughout the disc (the most relevant ones being Neil Young, The Band & Steve Young), even with these reference points the album is fresh and has a distinctly Australian sound.
While many group albums fall down because of overly full and unnecessary complex mixes, it’s to the Hired Guns credit that this disc is a balanced combination of upbeat and restrained material, and even in it’s more strident moments the musical detail and subtlety is still there. The recording is excellent throughout, and there’s a discernable atmosphere and sense of space throughout the 12 songs; much of this must be attributed to the recording venue, an old disused 1930s knitting mill converted into a studio.
All the songs here are credited to individual band members, and they’re all represented on at least one song – this has created a diverse and fascinating range of songs. Although from the pen of different writers, it’s customary for an alt-country disc to be lyrically downbeat, the open road, leaving and break-ups are all recurrent themes throughout, but the strong melodies and underlying dark sense of comfort in the songs makes this an easy disc to listen to.
This is a strong disc that will appeal to all fans of any form of alt-country, the almost retro sound gives it a familiar feel, but further listening shows this to be a disc with a unique edge.

£13.49