It’s been a busy year for the Tasmanian country-rock band, The Wolfe Brothers – with the release of their highly-anticipated fourth studio album Country Heart in March, its two chart-topping singles ‘Ain’t Seen It Yet’ and ‘No Sad Song’, as well as an accompanying national tour. The album debuted on the ARIA Country Chart at #2 and the ARIA Charts at #9, beating their last album, This Crazy Life, which came in at #10 on release in June 2016.
Its first single ‘Ain’t Seen It Yet’ was praised by fans and industry alike, and saw them take the #1 position on the national country music radio chart. With lyrics celebrating the bands roots, the video was fittingly filmed at the Wolfe Brothers family farm in Hobart and hit #1 on the CMC Video chart.
The second and current single ‘No Sad Song’ received mainstream radio airplay before it was officially released as a single, twisting the band’s hands into an early release.
Brodie says, “It was always going to be a single – it was just a matter of when. We started hearing it on mainstream radio and thought maybe that was a sign we should put this out.”
The music video sees the band turn into Siberian huskies after a big night out. Directed by the award-winning Duncan Toombs of The Filmery, the video shows the bands fun and playful side.
Brodie adds,” We spoke with our director for the film clip, and he came up with this fantastic concept and it all just fell into place. It was all meant to happen that way. Working with those lovely dogs all day – It was amazing!”
It’s ironic that their first album with the word ‘country’ in the title would be their release that would most blur the lines between country and pop, and concrete the band’s potential for mainstream commercial success. With Country Heart, the trio’s objective was to experiment with unique sounds and different synths to deliver songs that would hopefully take the band to the next level.
“Country’s been a dirty word in this country for way too long! At every gig there’s always someone who comes up and says, ‘I don’t like country music but I love what you do!’ It just goes to show a lot of people would actually like it if they gave it a chance,” Brodie laughs. “Hopefully we can we can fly under the radar and sneak country into people’s playlists without them realising and before they know it, they’re country fans! We’re still hanging out in the country section … hopefully we look quite inviting!”
The album was written on a song-writing trip to Nashville last year, but its sound is attributed to what award-winning producer Matt Fell at Love Hz Studios in Sydney brought to it.
“A lot of people have heard ‘No Sad Song’ and didn’t realise it was us – I guess we’re doing something right,” Brodie says. “We’ve always had people whinging that it’s not country. That’s always been a thing and this might ramp it up a bit, I don’t know. Even the artists they love, when those artists were the new kids with a different sound they were frowned upon. It’s a huge cycle that music goes through. We laugh about it every now and again. We’re in the middle ground at the moment. If you’re not always trying to grow and evolve as an artist, then what are you doing?”
Brodie and real-life brothers Nick and Tom Wolfe have been honing their craft since forming back in high school; then as a four piece with former member and drummer Casey Kostuik. Their distinct rock-meets-country sound caught the ears of Australia’s Got Talent viewers in 2012. They were awarded second place, but impressed the ‘Boy from the Bush’ Lee Kernaghan, who later took them out on the road, something that continues to this day.
Their shows are always energetic, infectious and an entertaining all-in sing-along – but they’ve really stepped up their game, selling out shows on their current national tour. The tour kicked off in May with new dates constantly being added, taking them well into next year.
“It’s really exciting. It wasn’t that long ago where I can remember selling twelve tickets and it was the most depressing time of our lives. But we stuck with it, upped our game and now we’re doing a few sell outs here and there. We’re definitely heading in the right direction. We’re on the cusp of something that could turn us quite big, I think. It feels like the best show we’ve put together,” Brodie says.
“We’ve definitely turned our quality level up to the next level. We always give 110% at a show. We want people to come along, have a good time, forget about whatever is happening in their lives and be in the moment. ”
Country Heart is out now.
14 September – Goulburn Workers Club, Goulburn
15 September – Kinross Woolshed, Thurgoona
29 September – Monto Dairy Festival, Monto
03 October – Devonport, Australia
04 October – Burnie Civic Centre, Burnie
05 October – The Saloon Bar, Launceston
06 October – Wrest Point Entertainment Centre, Hobart
11 October – Dubbo Regional Theatre, Dubbo
12 October – Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, Bathurst
13 October – Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill
10 November – Great Huon Valley Festival, Grove
16 November – Wollongong Town Hall, Wollongong
17 November – The Cube, Campbelltown
30 November – Hornsby RSL Club, Hornsby
01 December – Evan Theatre, Penrith
07 December – Commercial Hotel – South Morang, South Morang
08 December – Eel Skinners & Duck Pluckers BNS Ball, Carranballac
14 December – Carols By Candlelight, Branyan
31 December – Smithton Rodeo, Smithton
23 January 2019 – The Albert Hotel, Tamworth
For more details on the tour, and the new release, head to the band’s Facebook Page.
