For a few years now, Australian country music has been living in a sort of parallel universe, both in terms of quality and professionalism, and has no reason to envy the U.S. or other countries. The link with the States is still quite strong, but Australian country music is now moving into a wonderful world of its own, having produced great classics (Slim Dusty, Stan Coster for example), and true superstars (Lee Kermgahn, Adam Brand or Gina Jeffreys, just to name a few) and a continuous stream of new exciting names, that enrich a musical landscape in constant expansion. Among these new names (or relatively new as in our case), I would like to point out Tyson Colman ( http://www.tysoncolman.com/ ) and his latest album entitled “From Now On”. Despite the cowboy hat, as seen on the Cd cover (which overlooks a stunning electric guitar) you understand that “From Now On” is not really a traditional country sounding album (except for “A Change Is Coming”, a bluegrass sound, and “Cry Like A Baby”, very folk ), but a selection of powerful and modern country music that takes into consideration not only Nashville but also the Oz Rock and the sound of Springsteen and Mellencamp. The link with the States is obviously present, but Tyson develops a personal style, very much Australian, with reference to the tracks, which allows him to wander casually through sounds, not exactly country. In fact, if “Gonna Get Me A Cowgirl”, “A Certain Touch”, and “Please Come Home” are definitely country, “You’re The Reason”, “Wild And Free”, “You Know You Wanna”, and the title track “From Now On” are more rock, and in some moments also a touch of r’n’b. A very experienced musician, prolific writer, Tyson has a pretty versatile voice, that fits perfectly to the songs of the is Cd “From Now On”, an album that meanders successfully in so many directions. Buy it. (Gianluca Sitta)
