Wagons - Trying to Get Home (2002)

With a sound deeply rooted in the growling sounds of Johnny Cash and ZZ Top, Wagons capture the rambling country-rock of the American South, despite not living in the country, or even the United States. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, the group is the brainchild of singer and songwriter Henry Wagons. Featuring percussionists Mark "Tuckerbag" Dawson and Si "The Philanthropist" Francis, bassist Steve "Harmony" Hassett, and guitarist Richard Blazé, the band combines rowdy country-rock fuzz with a dramatic Nick Cave-inspired delivery, creating its own take on country music. After playing the Melbourne pub circuit, the band made its full-length debut in 2002 with Trying to Get Home, followed by Draw Blood in 2004 and Curse of Lightning in 2007. Wagons really hit their stride with 2009's Rise & Fall of Goodtown, which won Age EG Awards for Best Group and Best Album. The band's 2011 effort, Rumble, Shake and Tumble, was also its U.S. debut.