Earlier this month, we were treated to indie-folk revelry that was David M. Western’s single You Remind Me Of A Friend.
Disarming in its raw and unfiltered honesty, the single was merely a precursor of the artistry that was to come, with Western dropping the remaining tracklist upon the release of On, On & On today (October 20).
While the nine-song project would rightfully earn Western a place among many best-of lists, he nonetheless swung by Happy Mag to name some of the other Australian songwriters he believes are top-tier.
Check out Western’s choice picks — from the “enchanting” lyricism of a Melbourne local to the “clarity and direction” of a rock trio — below, and scroll down to listen to his new album On, On & On. See the run of dates for Western’s 2024 tour below.
Isobel Caldwell
Enchanting is where I would begin, but I feel that’s only the first impression of a journey that’s ahead of any listener of Isobel’s. Her latest album Duty Of Care came out last year and it’s beautiful. Isobel is a modern artist, a modern artist whose work travels time.
The album is produced by Imogen Cygler who should also be on this list as an incredible artist in her own right. The album is patient, deep, mindful and made with seriousness and sincerity. I’ll say no more! Listen below.
Shoe
Tassie fellas with amazing rock songwriting. This album cover would be on my wall if they made posters of their latest album ‘Dooom’.
Again, these are guys who have been honing their chops over a number of years. There’s a maturity, an assuredness to their music in this album.
You can tell where an artist is at in their life based on how they sound and what they’re saying, and in ‘Dooom’ you can hear Bart’s clarity and direction as a musician and writer. It’s a complete body of work which is so hard to do.
It’s also a Gormie masterpiece from an engineering and mixing perspective. Gormie also did my album. What’s up Gormie! Listen below.
Hannah Cameron
Hannah encompasses a lot of things for me in an artist. First and foremost is that her songs just continuously get better and better, but also she is the model of someone who’s been working hard year in and out on her craft and is reaping the rewards now turning a bunch of heads.
“What you’ve never listened to Hannah’s music or seen her play before?” I say to the unexpecting friend, “what is wrong with you?”. Mad singing chops, loves a negroni and is one of the best guitar players going. Listen to this:
David M Western On, On & On Tour Dates
Find tickets here.
Nov 3 – Petersham Bowling Club, Sydney
Nov 4 – Franks Wild Years, Thirroul
Nov 5 – North Gong Hotel, Wollongong
Nov 11 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne (Album Launch)
Nov 12 – The Eastern, Ballarat
Nov 26 – The Bearded Lady, Brisbane (solo show)
Jan 6 – Tanswells Hotel, Beechworth
Jan 13 – The Metro, Adelaide
Feb 2 – Belgrave Hotel, Belgrave
