If you like going to the pub in Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs, chances are that you’ve encountered honky-tonk aficionados, The Bakersfield Glee Club.
Where My Heart Broke is their third release and while they stay close to their honky-tonk roots, they do travel some more Aussie-inflected country roads.
Sweet Bird of Youth, the raucous, southern-rock washed Drinks Are On The House and the waltzy Thank You are all standout tracks.True to their hard country, West Nashville sound, it’s enjoyable listening whether in close vicinity of an actual bar or stuck behind the wheel on the road.
The album’s second track, I Think I’ll Just Sit Here And Have A Drink forays into a more Tamworth-sounding country style. There’s more melody and some keys (less commonly heard in Melbourne’s inner-urban country scene), and an emphasis on strings.
The album also contains a bold cover of Hank Mills’ classic Little Ole Wine Drinker Me. It may take a few moments to recognise the song, a cracking deviation from the standard Dean Martin version.
The album ends on a high note, a melancholy instrumental titled Cleméntine, taking listeners back to Ry Cooder’s work on the Paris Texas soundtrack, or Marco Beltrami’s score for Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.
The fiddle in the hands of Greg Field is a welcome addition. There’s also some absolutely fantastic pedal steel guitar – even more rare than keys in our local country scene, the twang adding ambience to the melody.
All you need is a frosted pint, a pair of good boots, a Stetson and a bar to lean on and you’ve got yourself a perfect Sunday afternoon with this album.
BY LATIMORE & ODERBERG
