Roland K Smith, former lead singer of Sydney band Walrus, has recorded a stunning collection of songs for his debut EP. He’s left the heavy rock of Walrus behind for a strong country influence. He works well within this genre. His self-titled debut is nothing if not authentic. There are whisky stains and horse hooves all over the music.

Despite the signature country sound of the record, there is still a very Australian undercurrent to these songs. They reminded me of The Go-Betweens circa Tallulah when violinist Amanda Brown had joined the band. Cecilia Palmer, a relative unknown, does ... (+) expand

Roland K Smith, former lead singer of Sydney band Walrus, has recorded a stunning collection of songs for his debut EP. He’s left the heavy rock of Walrus behind for a strong country influence. He works well within this genre. His self-titled debut is nothing if not authentic. There are whisky stains and horse hooves all over the music.

Despite the signature country sound of the record, there is still a very Australian undercurrent to these songs. They reminded me of The Go-Betweens circa Tallulah when violinist Amanda Brown had joined the band. Cecilia Palmer, a relative unknown, does Brown’s job here and she is true and exciting, elevating the songs to a higher place, somewhere they might not have been without her delicate instrumentation. That’s not a slight against Roland. The quality on this collection was never heard on any of the Walrus releases. This is of another class. The song writing is strong, traditional and thoughtful. Smith’s voice is a real asset too. There’s a pissed off resignation to his inflections and he does it without ever raising his voice once. He screamed himself silly on the Walrus records. He’s much more effective here.

It is the six minute closer ‘Too Many Times’ that really confirms Smith’s greatness though. This is the country album the Pixies never recorded. It is of Nashville standards. Roland K Smith is Australia’s answer to Ryan Adams. He has the potential to go that far too. He’s got the talent, he’s got the will and he’s got the way. Watch him as he soars.

- THE BRAG MAGAZINE 2 June 2008

www.myspace.com/rolandsings (-) collapse