The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...

Roger Knox’s “Buluunarbi & The Old North Star” has settled in, and it’s like unearthing a geode – outwardly unassuming country bedrock, but crack it open and the crystals of story shimmer with a fierce, knowing light. The 'Koori King of Country', as he's known, doesn't just sing; he offers up pieces of a map drawn in river water and resilience, guiding you through...