(ABC/Universal)

Nightbirds of a different feather.

The five people who have come together for this album – Andrew Morris, The Gin Club’s Ben Salter and Danny Widdicombe from Brisbane, with Sime Nugent and John Bedggood from Melbourne – are already established musicians, so you could say this is a interstate supergroup of sorts. But (apart from the band probably gagging at such a notion) there’s no sense of pressure, not to mention preconceptions here. Instead, with guitar, banjo, harmonica, fiddle, mandolin and lots of harmony singing, but with minimal drums, this is like a local take on a backwoods bluegrass string band, whooping it up just for the hell of it. Except the backwoods here is Samford, where these 11 tracks were recorded in a mere three days. From the slightly Dylanesque opener Can’t Steal My Love and rollicking rattlers like How Long? to the slow honky-tonk of Country Fair, the rural lament of I Won’t Tell, the rustic strum of Dryer Ground and the ragged, rusty, dusty finale Barman Blues, these guys have got the moves down pat. But more than that, they’re clearly having fun and know how to make you enjoy it too.

BILL HOLDSWORTH

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