Adelaide-based country duo Hana & Jessie-Lee have overcome a lot in their musical careers — as former members of The Sloe Ruin, they've now shed the shackles of bigger ensembles to distill their delightful and distinct sound into a neat little two-piece package.
The latest fruits of this labour is the deeply enjoyable Maryses, which was co-written with Graveyard Train's Nick Finch, and premieres on The Music today.
The song itself heralds Hana & Jessie-Lee's upcoming new album, Southlands, and is a smoky, infectious and rollicking jam built of brushed snare, twangy gee-tar, gorgeous vocals with some seriously fierce, super-fun fiddlin' to boot, the hectic, string-riddled passage its arguable piece de resistance. The whole thing is pretty darn fantastic, though.
Maryses was recorded by Paul Maybury (Rocket Science, The Pink Tiles) at Melbourne's Secret Location Sound Records, with the group entrusting mastering to US pro Rob Evans, of County Wide Records in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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Prior to this track, the pair of whiskey-drinkin' honky-tonkers let loose their two-track self-titled release, containing Road To Ruin and Trouble Will Find You — that effort is available on their Bandcamp page, for the completionists out there.
If you're keen to catch the band in action, Hana & Jessie-Lee will be launching Maryses at The Labour In Vain, Melbourne, next Sunday, 5 February. They'll be backed by a live complement of musicians including Kat Mear (fiddle, backing vox) and Thomas Reeve (double bass).
The band will back up the following week to perform at the Grace Emily Hotel, Adelaide, on 11 February.
Southlands will be released this year.
For more information about Hana & Jessie-Lee's album or shows, get to following them on Facebook.