There's a curious jolt in hearing a title like "Us Against The World" from an act called The Cockney Cowboy. The name itself is a glorious contradiction, a pairing of gritty East London reality with the wide-open romance of Nashville. You half expect a joke, but what Justin Vella delivers is a dead-serious, straight-shooting country ballad that smells less of hay bales and more...

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...