THE BALLAD OF COWBOY DAN

With 'The Ballad of Cowboy Dan’, Dan Brodie once again teams up with Melbourne producer, Michael Hubbard, (Funeraria do Vale) to create a sonically lush and rich palette on which to host Brodie's ever insightful and penetrating lyrics - charting the songwriter's internal journey roaming the deserted plains of Melbourne's outer east over the last few challenging years in lockdown. 

The Story of cowboy dan

'The Ballad of Cowboy Dan' is a welcome arrival in Brodie's oeuvre, capturing a place and time of isolation, storytelling and imagination over ten lovingly crafted new tracks, showcasing the musical influences which have shaped the songwriter's world to date.

Dan Brodie is a renowned Australian singer-songwriter, and double ARIA Award nominee.  

With a career spanning multiple Album releases and tours and a hard earned reputation as an incredible live performer, Dan Brodie has gained a loyal following across Australia, the US, and Europe, performing at venues such as L.A.’s Roxy Theatre, CBGB in New York, L’Olympia in Paris, and music festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, Big Day Out, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Gumball and Byron Bay Bluesfest along with recent headline appearances at Dashville Skyline and Tamworth Country Music Festival. 

With new Album 'The Ballad of Cowboy Dan’, Dan Brodie once again teams up with Melbourne producer, Michael Hubbard (Funeraria do Vale) at The Shrimp Shack, to create a sonically lush and rich palette on which to host Brodie's ever insightful and penetrating lyrics - charting the songwriter's internal journey roaming the deserted plains of Melbourne's outer east over the last few years in lockdown, exploring the myth of the the Alt country/Amerciana 'Cowboy Dan' aesthetic (a term ascribed to Brodie on the release of his debut Album, Big Black Guitar) and contrasting it with the challenges of the everyday.

Joining Dan for the ride is a wild bunch of Melbourne music royalty, including fiddle wunderkind Jason Bunn, accordionist John Anderson on the shambolic sing-a-long 'My Own Drinking Song', and pedal steel legend, Shane Reilly, who breathes life into last year's shimmering Single, '(I Can Feel) Love Closing In'. Fellow bandmate, Katie Bates steps up to layer some sweet backing vocals throughout the Album, reaching for the stars on the epic operatic title track, with former Sydney songstress Katie Brianna swinging high with Dan on the rollicking yet tender duet, 'My Last Picture Show'. 

"If Dan Brodie were an actor, he wouldn't be the star of the show. He would be the guy the other actors on set wanted to hang out with, the guy the director would turn to when he needed a moment of inspiration to get the show on the road. This album.. shows why Brodie was twice nominated for ARIA Awards."    
                   Martin Boulton - The Age  

Reviews

A gentle slow burn for the Melbourne alt-country veteran.

A quarter-century after his first solo release, Melbourne’s Dan Brodie sounds suitably confident on his eighth studio album. Reuniting with producer Michael Hubbard after 2019’s ‘Funerária Do Vale’ Brodie bookends this gentle slow burn of a record with swathes of spoken-word delivery set against gorgeous country and Americana arrangements.

But while opener “(I Can Feel) Love Closing In” luxuriates in a romantic glow underscored by accordion, vocal harmonies and other lush embellishment, the closing title track dispenses its nurturing self-talk over low-key piano and subtle shades of atmosphere.

That’s not to say Brodie is completely mellowing with age: “I’m the Shit” proves every bit as flippant and fun as his early work, and “Losin’ Love (Is Dangerous)” has a Stones-style barroom rollick to it.

The latter is a co-write with his brother, Dallas Crane bassist Chris Brodie, who plays guitar, lap steel and banjo across the record.

The two have been working together on and off since they were teens, and their other co-write here—the serene instrumental “Lost Inside a Dream”—showcases just how closely in step they are with each other after all these years.

  • Tim Daley / Apple Music

PHOTOS FOR DOWNLOAD

Album Cover

Photo by Jay Hynes

Photo by Jay Hynes

Photo by Jay Hynes

Photo by Jay Hynes

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