Out 19 June
Tom West is an Australian singer, guitarist & songwriter performing with a distinctive, androgynous vocal style, finger-picked guitars, stories intricately woven into music for immersive shows.
Following a peculiar dream and riding a tide of coincidences, hundreds of folk shows and odd-jobs all over the USA in the years post-pandemic West found himself living in Chicago working on a new album of music with five time grammy winning producer Ryan Freeland and some of that city's finest jazz musicians.
From this unexpected location, far from the hills and surf worn coast of his native Fleurieu Peninsula in SA, he spent two years immersed in writing, recording & producing from a third story bedroom of a historic Chicago brownstone: absorbing the essence of that historic musical city and diving deeper into his compositions and experiences than ever before to create an album of astounding complexity.
2025 will see West return to the touring circuit with new music and a new look ensemble of musicians to set the stage for his upcoming album ‘The Slowest Music That Was Ever Made’ and also celebrate the ten year release anniversary of his popular ‘Oncoming Clouds’ EP.​
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“A Folk Singer From Outer Space’ somehow offers some soothing solace for the current, permeating state of loss and isolation.’ - American Songwriter
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’Peninsula’ has a beguiling and baroque folk feel, hushed yet gently exclamatory in the way it treads lightly but briskly. Bands like Grizzly Bear and Iron & Wine come to mind in the ornate musical filigrees of guitar strings and the really wonderful blend of Tom and Lucinda’s contrasting yet wholly compatible voices. At 1:20 it blossoms into a beautiful coterie of sounds akin to the first rays of a new morning. - Post To Wire
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One Way Conversation is one of the best tracks on the album. Written with Tom West, the song is somewhat reminiscent to Aimee Mann. Slightly haunting and sleepy and also vocally brilliant, this track is top tier! - Building Our Own Nashville
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“**** With his unique voice, storytelling and folk sensibility he could pass for a modern-day Neil Young.” - Courier Mail
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Lead vocalist and songwriter Dani Stone shares: "Collaborating with Tom on 'Undertow' was such a cool process. I was struggling with writer’s block on the chorus of this song, and had pretty much given up on it. I’ve always loved Tom’s melodies and poeticism in his lyrics, though. I knew he was the right person to collaborate with in order to make the song come out right. The best thing is, it came out even better than we’d hoped.” - Grateful Web
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“A document to accompany self-reflection and meditation. I’m Livin’ is truly special.” - Rolling Stone Australia
“One of the best albums of 2020” - Scenster
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“His keening, androgynous voice - in an upper register that recalls Brian Aubert, frontman of Los Angeles indie rockers Silversun Pickups - is a joyously tuneful instrument, meshing with his finger-picked guitars, sprinklings of piano, bass and Ringo - like drums. West’s material … is consistently strong, with memorably melodic choruses…”
- The Australian
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“Tom’s latest cut is a poignantly earnest slice of indie-folk that is bound to pull at your heartstrings...creating a sound that is undeniably cinematic and powerful.”
- The Vinyl District UK