Going ‘Down Under’ to come out at the very top

The Sweet Sorrows is a Wexford based husband-and-wife duo composed of Sammy and Kylie Horner, who were born in Belfast and Adelaide, respectively.

The two combine their indvidual influences to develop a blend of blues-infused, country tinged folk-rock that is an absolute joy to behold; something highlighted to perfection on the album, ‘The Australian Sessions’.

Opening track, ‘Coober Pedy Opal Mine’, is a broody, acoustic driven blues track that instantly grabs the attention.

The production, courtesy of Brian Baker, from the Bakery studio in Melbourne, is fantastic and the overall sound is full of warmth.

Fans of ‘I Don’t Want a Lover’, by Texas, or the acoustic blues of acts like Joe Bonamassa and the ‘Aquostic’ albums by Status Quo will love this track.

It benefits enormously from the fact that both musicians are extremely good vocalists.

Kylie’s voice is silky smooth but with just enough grit to give the delivery a moody edge.

Sammy’s vocals are a little drier by nature and the overall combination is fantastic.

There is authenticity to the vocals from both singers that many contemporaries could only aspire to achieve.

The acoustic nature of the album is also noteworthy because it proves that when executed right acoustic instruments can exemplify dirty blues.

If you ever travel to Coober Pedy from Adelaide, by road, this will be the perfect track to have on in the car while driving along the vast expanse of the Stuart Highway.

‘Wiradjuri’ continues the gritty blues vibe created by the opening track.

The way the vocalists alternate between each other on respective verses is brilliant as it adds to the overall ambience of the recording.

Anyone who has every visited or lived in Australia knows it’s a vast country and the cattle drives and tough lives of settlers from a bygone era have long been subject matter for songwriters from Down Under.

This track tells the story of a life growing up when times were tough and of the grief caused ‘when the creek began to rise’.

‘Adelady’ takes things down a notch and is a mid-tempo ballad written by Sammy as a tribute to his wife.

It tells the story of an Irish man looking for somewhere to go and how a decision to travel to a land much different to his own led to a love that would last a lifetime.

There is a melancholic feel to the song that is brilliant given the nature of its story.

‘Thirty Hours’ takes things on a different tangent and possesses a slight punky feel invoking an image of the Waterboys crossed with Transvision Vamp.

An upbeat, mid-tempo track it’s the type of song that would have people instantly hitting the dance-floor in a live setting.

One of the things that is very apparent about the work of the Sweet Sorrows is that whether it’s their own original songs or the excellent covers they choose to record each track tells a story .

The choruses are excellent and immediately embed themselves in the listeners mind.

‘Orphan Girl’, written by Irish songwriter, Brendan Graham, and is a lovely ballad. When Kylie sings ‘Australia is on my mind’ there is sincerity to the delivery that is spine-chilling.

Her vocals sit comfortably on top of the subtle accompaniment and the sparse nature of the arrangement is exemplary in terms of letting a song breathe and tell its own story both lyrically and musically.

Towards the end of the track Sammy adds some sparse backing vocals to great effect.

‘Willingly’ gets things back on the country blues road but in doing so takes the listener towards the Appalachian mountains.

The upright bass vibe of the rhythm accompaniment is absolutely perfect for this track.

‘Don’t Weep My Bonnie Lassie’ is a sombre, downbeat ballad and notwithstanding the title there is a wonderful Celtic vibe to the track; it’s easy to picture a Highlander paying tribute to his love as she anxiously awaits his return.

The way the accompaniment builds is fantastic and the inclusion of each new instrument adds to the Celtic vibe of the track.

‘Wilderness’ is an up-tempo rocker and it pumps along on top of a lovely bass line courtesy of Brian Baker.

At the start of the track Sammy takes the main lead vocal, however, the combination of both vocalists’ voices as the track progresses creates a fantastic sound.

‘Sydney Harbour’ sees the vocals set to solitary acoustic guitar accompaniment at the beginning before the introduction of an accordion enhances the melancholic feel of the song.

‘Grace’, written by Ralston Bowles, is a mandolin-led upbeat folk-rocker and continues a common thread among the tracks in that it has a rhythm that is immediately infectious.

The album closure is ‘Hand of the Almighty’ and it brings the CD to an end in exemplary fashion.

Obviously, a spiritual song it’s a track that asks for protection of a country and in the current climate it’s a song that the whole world could relate to.

This is a wonderful album that highlights the fact that some of the world’s foremost songwriters could be living next door.

Find out more about the Sweet Sorrows at www.thesweetsorrows.com