Dustin Tebbutt - First Light (2016)

Australian singer/songwriter Dustin Tebbutt left his homeland in search of inspiration from the harsh and changeable seasons of Scandinavia, where he began work on his Bon Iver-inspired music. Subsequently settling in Sweden, he combined lush, sweeping harmonies with sparse, layered instrumentation; he used the foreign landscapes that surrounded him to construct the backdrop of his dramatic and melancholic music. His languid, emotive songs nod to influences such as J. Tillman, while the rich texture of Laura Veirs, Great Lake Swimmers, and Max Richter are also audible in the composition of his 2013 debut EP The Breach. The following year, Tebbutt released a second EP, Bones, before making a triumphant return to Australia, where he sold out multiple shows in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. A 2015 collaboration with Brisbane's The Kite String Tangle was followed quickly by the seven track mini-album, Home. ~ Scott Kerr.