Graham Reid | | <1 min read
Wagons: Moonhorn Lake
It's not that encouraging to hear a country-rock outfit have the sound of Skyhooks cited as an aural reference by some writers, but they are Australian after all.
This six-piece certainly wear their influences in their songs: splashes of straight Nashville, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allmans, early Wilco, alt.country singer-songwriters, and maybe even a bit of Skyhooks pop. They cover Hoyt Axton's Never Been to Spain but mostly the material comes from Henry Wagons and my guess is they probably work best in a bar.
Aside from a few tracks -- the melodramatic narrative of The Gambler which has one ear on Roy Orbison among them -- this doesn't quite stick like it should.
Pass.
Octavious Stiffland - Apr 28, 2009
I have listened to this album and it is indeed strange, How ever, I found it to be a breath of fresh air within the genre. I have read reviews that liken this Henry Wagons fellow to the great Nick Cave?? Stories of death and obsession are not uncommon, the traditions of American music will always reveal influences and common ground amongst musicians, as is the case with Wilco, Ryan Adams ect...Here we have a potential new Australian hero. They are obviously talented musicians and I believe they have stretched the boundaries that seem to limit bands playing alt country. I hear they put on a spectacle live aswell.
SavePlease reconsider your "Pass".
Octavious Stiffland.
Louis Nott - May 7, 2009
WAGONS are much loved and revered in Australia. All their albums have received great critical acclaim. Their fourth album “The Rise and Fall of Goodtown” is a runaway success, with reviewers stating it is one of the year’s best albums. Henry Wagons is a great showman, singer and songwriter and has been described variously as Australia’s Warren Zevon, the missing link between Neil Young and Neil Diamond, and has also been compared to Johnny Cash and Nick Cave. Henry is one of the best frontmen you will ever see and is hugely entertaining to watch and listen to whether in a pub, at a festival or on the big stage with an audience of thousands. Wagons put on an unforgettable live show.
SaveGraham Reid you don’t get a “pass”, you “fail”. Do your homework, get to know the subject you are writing about before you venture an uninformed opinion. But you are a Kiwi after all (and obviously not a Skyhooks fan).
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