Album Review: Paddy McHugh & The Goldminers - Trials & Cape Tribulation

Tamworth-raised ex-Sydney City Trash frontman Paddy McHugh as been ensconced in Brisbane for a while now, and as this belated vinyl release of his new album proves he's quickly assembled a crack band. The folk-flecked material is primarily narrative-driven and undeniably Australian – like early WPA many tracks focus on our colonial past – without being parochial. There's prison odes (Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre), Valley trash laments (Brunswick Street) and songs about crocs eating reprobates in the Daintree (Dan O'Halloran). Excellent songs played with distinction.