A time-travelling bluesman from the dirty ’30s American South sounds like the premise for a film thrown up during the Hollywood writers’ strike, but a portal nonetheless seems to have been ripped open. Lo and behold, artists like C.W. Stoneking and Archer keep popping up in the Australian wilderness, with Karl S. Williams falling out of the same wormhole.

His debut album Heartwood was originally released independently last year but found its way into the hands of the good people at the Warner Music indie imprint, Footstomp Records. They decided a re-release was in order, with three additional tracks.

Opener ‘Time Bomb’has Williams’ quintessential blues lyrics cut over an electric piano-driven fusion of rock and soul. Sounding like a declaration of impending doom, Williams’ opening chorus introduces it as “A daisy-cutting motherfucking Judgement Day”. Williams is at his best when his straight-shooting lyrics and uplifting melancholic melodies are left to float by themselves. Occasionally, though, the songs are a victim of overproduction, like the string section on ‘The Darkest Cloud’.

His voice doesn’t require the extra textures, because like the bluesmen of old, he can channel the pain of life and warp it into beauty.

3.5/5.

Heartwoodis out now through Footstomp /Warner.

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