Phil Coyne and his musical act The Wayward Aces are both students of the blues genre spanning back to the fifties, simultaneous to wiring their own, unique stamp on the work by way of adding a distinctive Aussie touch. There’s a sense of irreverence to their upcoming debut album, a sort of joyous qualities that comes with total creative freedom and ownership over the product. I was initially reticent when I listened to their work, given the fact blues is a genre near and dear to my heart.
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What I discovered has concurrently solidified my love of the genre, and the unique, caliente touch the band brings to a medium which offers itself to individualistic interpretation fairly well. Blues has always been a genre that feels like reading someone’s diary, or a love note. There’s this kind of raw, unparalleled quality to it, something that mixes cool with the distinctly uncool – pouring one’s heart and soul out into music and lyrics to what would regularly be painful degree. Part of the natural sentimentality that goes with the territory is tempered sonically by Coyne’s scratchy, evocative vocals. He almost feels like something transplanted from an earlier time, someone visible on a vinyl freshly pressed next to the likes of Huey Lewis & The News, or Men At Work.
“…we’re really lucky that there’s a strong audience,” Coyne reiterated in aforementioned vein, to Michael Limnios in an exclusive interview. “I think the blues audience really appreciate honest, soulful music that isn’t pretentious and has feeling. They get behind the artists they like and do all they can do to support them. So, there’s an audience that out there and wants to hear good music, there’s a bunch of players that are pushing the benchmarks for quality, there are venues hosting music and then there’s radio inspiring us all to get together. I think blues in Australia is pretty strong and it’s not going anywhere but up.”
It’s this homegrown mentality that has proven to be Coyne and Wayward Aces’ winning mentality. They’re not desperate nor attempt overnight success strategies. They’re interested in being the lean horses for the long ride, emphasizing quality over quantity. Their upcoming album reflects this – never feeling rushed or hurried in any particular way. You’re able to sit back and genuinely enjoy yourself and the music, clearly in the way Coyne intended from the start.
“When I’m going out to see a band I want to be moved and that’s what I’m hoping with the Wayward Aces,” he has stated, in aforementioned Q&A. “We put on a show. We’re frequently cajoling people to get into it and enjoy themselves. We’ll tell people to dance, to have a drink and have a good time because that’s what we’re doing, and we’re putting on a show, because people want to be entertained, taken out of the ordinary. If I’m going to see a band, I want to feel something. I want magic; to be uplifted, transfixed, transported. As far as I’m concerned Phil Coyne and the Wayward Aces will always be the band I’d want to see.”
Cleopatra Patel