Know the name Phil Coyne? Maybe his musical act, The Wayward Aces? No? Well, soon you will. Akin to Allison Krauss and Union Station, Mr. Coyne and his band are epitomizing Aussie Blues, taking everything back to basics from both a music standpoint and a business marketing standpoint. Coyne clearly isn’t interested in the pomp and circumstance of massive marketing campaigns targeting trending SEO keywords, and consistent algorithmic trends guaramteed to bring eyeballs for the sake of what’s fetch, to use American pop cultural vernacular. His understated presence is reflective of the matter-of-factness of his music.
Aussie Blues isn’t about any of the nonsense making up punchy catchphrases and auto-tuned vocal performances. It’s something fairly timeless, drawing on both what made the old define the golden eras of music, and bringing said qualities to a modern and updated lens. Like any free agent in the music space, Coyne’s complete autonomy is reflected through the production of the band’s upcoming, debut album. The synths and electronic beats are in the bin, and there’s almost a sense of letting any potential flaws hang because the band approaches each of the tracks like it’s a live performance. Something whose freak flag flying is a badge of honor, not something indicative of any shortcomings, or competitive malaise.
“Phil Coyne and The Wayward Aces’ follow up release to ‘Sound and Fury’ rockets along like a hi octane blues fueled jet fighter. While Sound and Fury was fully immersed in Blues, the new release ‘Phil Coyne and The Wayward Aces’ goes adventuring into new territory – from Chicago blues to early 60’s rock and roll, garage surf and rockabilly. 10 new tunes from the Melbourne based high energy blues trio. Adding beat and swing to classic blues, with 8 originals and 2 re -imagined classics,” the Wayward Ace website states.
One-on-one, Coyne is self-effacing, funny, and quick-witted, something reflected in the lyrics of each of the group’s new tracks. “Our song book is a bit of a grab bag,” he states to Michael Limnios Blues Network. “…you’ll hear a lot of feels and beats from rockabilly, garage rock, punk and surf…I write most of the lyrics and generally have a feel in mind for new tunes, but a whole heap of our creative drive comes from the band…We’ll frequently find ourselves playing something that sounds different to what we started, and that’s awesome because then it feels more like a band and not limited by one person’s imagination.”
It’s refreshing to hear someone who is interested in the actual nature and production of the music, rather than the appearance of the actual nature and production of the music. Whatever Coyne and his band may not have in terms of excess commercial beats, they more than make up for in terms of uncompromising artistic style, substance, and genuine love of the craft. I don’t remember the last time I heard someone contemporary actually discuss their love of the genuine craft of music-making. It reminds of me something I, as a consumer, had been missing.
Given how much self-representing artists are starting to find audiences through platforms such as Bandcamp, YouTube, TikTok, and personal webpages, it’ll be very exciting to see where Coyne and Wayward Aces take things from here. Because after all, with no corporate control, they’re just getting started.
Chadwick Easton