The James Brothers

Australian James Fagan and New Zealander Jamie McClennan's debut album was recorded in Scotland and mastered in Nashville. These songs, tunes and shanties are well-travelled, steeped in the tradition of the British Isles but distinctly antipodean. ‘Hey Rain’ complains about the fact that ‘there's rain in me beer and there's rain in me grub,’ not to mention ‘a Johnstone River crocodile livin’ in me fridge.’

McClennan plays fiddle and guitar while his vocals are strangely reminiscent of Al Stewart on songs like ‘The Shearing's Coming Round’ and ‘Leatherman’. Fagan shares vocals and guitar duties but the real synergy comes in the mellifluous blend of McClennan's guitar and Fagan's bouzouki on tracks like ‘Family Tree’ and ‘The Voyage of the Buffalo’ (a tale of an ill-fated ship that transports convicts to Australia and returns to England with a cargo of New Zealand timber). The duo further demonstrate their Australasian credentials with ‘The Ballad of Ned Kelly’ and a cover of ‘Six Months in a Leaky Boat’. The latter is a Tim Finn composition from his Split Enz period which, when given The James Brothers’ treatment, is clearly a Crowded House song in disguise.