Recording: Jennifer Castle

Artist: Jennifer Castle

Songs: Full Moon in Leo + Piece of Glass + Fractal Canyon

Recorded at The Garrison, July 25, 2026.

Jennifer Castle - Full Moon in Leo

Jennifer Castle - Piece of Glass

Jennifer Castle - Fractal Canyon

It remains an object of complete incomprehensibility to one such as myself how folks could put down good money for a concert ticket, and then treat said concert as a place to have full-on conversations while the show is in progress in front of them. Gracing the city with this tune-up show before heading off for some festival dates, the first half-hour or so of this show was something of a write-off with the band competing in vain with a room full of people talking. It was only after some blessed soul took matters into their own hands and loudly told the room between songs to shut the hell up that the crowd seemed to realize there was a frickin' Jen Castle show going on in front of them and toned it down to a more suitable level.

That unpleasantness notwithstanding, this was a chance to see Castle interpret the songs of last year's excellent Camelot, as well and ranging through her substantial catalog. It turned out to be a fully-committed set, running about an hour and three-quarters, so there was a lot of ground covered, including a bring-it-all-down solo portion. Unsurprisingly, Castle came large with a stupendous band, with drummer Jay Anderson and guitarist Paul Mortimer anchoring things. Johnny Spence and Edwin de Goeij shared an interesting tag-team approach, swapping back and forth on bass and keyboards, while up front Vic Cheong and Isla Craig filled out the vocals. Having missed a few winter solstices now, I was glad to hear the newer material from such a crew (and also to hear some ace reinterpretations, such as a tough-as-nails/Fleetwood Mac-ified take on "Piece of Glass", a song that Castle has been rearranging for quite some time now.)

Recording: Cows in Rain

Artist: Cows in Rain

Songs: Shania Twain Hat + I Am Enough For Myself [Sinéad O'Connor cover]

Recorded at Dina's Tavern, July 5, 2026.

Cows in Rain - Shania Twain Hat

Cows in Rain - I Am Enough For Myself

This new trio is another spin-off from the Holy Oak Family Singers scene, with Thom Gill (guitar, vox) joined by Edwin De Goeij (keyb) and Mira Martin-Gray (vox, laptop). Although a range of genres were essayed here (jazz and country among them) they were all tackled along similar lines — that is to say wispily and theoretically. (Similar territory to the is-this-THOMAS? days of sanctified whisper-grooves.) In any case, with the zzozy textures and Martin-Gray's abstracted laptop percussion, this is a group that induces a feeling akin to dipping your cotton candy in codiene-laced cough syrup — and finding out afterwards that there was some steel wool mixed in.

Recording: Holy Oak Family Singers

Artist: Holy Oak Family Singers

Songs: Greenfields [The Brothers Four cover] + The Way You Look Tonight [Betty Carter cover] + Madame George [Van Morrison cover]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Holy Oak Family Singers present), May 6, 2026.

Holy Oak Family Singers feat. Luka Kuplowsky & Robin Dann - Greenfields

Holy Oak Family Singers feat. Robin Dann - The Way You Look Tonight

Holy Oak Family Singers feat. Ivy Mairi - Madame George

With my work schedule the way it is, it's a rare treat to get to see the Holy Oak Family Singers in action. Unsurprisingly, their montly showcases have become local Events of Note, with the Southern Cross jam-packed very early on. Once one reaches a certain age, an event called "Our Parents' Tapes" might be attended with apprehension, as the gap collapses towards "tapes I had". We're not quite there yet, and in any case, the group brought a pretty wide range of formative we-listened-to-this-in-the-car memories.

Recording: Jane Inc

Artist: Jane Inc

Song: An Ordinary Thing

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Ayal Senior & Friends), July 14, 2024.

Jane Inc - An Ordinary Thing

Guest-hosting Ayal Senior's monthly, I was searching for a performer that I'd like to see more of in a "Tranzac" context — and after some pondering, it seemed obvious that Carlyn Bezic was a perfect candidate. Although often seen performing as a guitar hero or bass monsta, her recent work as Jane Inc has dared to soften the edges a bit and get a little personal, songwriting-wise, so it suited the material to bring it to a stripped down/sitting down context. Accompanied by Edwin de Goeij on keys, the songs (and some sterling fingerpicking on acoustic guitar) really stood out, epecially on some newer, more experimental pieces that will surely gain some extra layers in studio versions.

You can check out some more from this set over on youtube:

[Ayal Senior & Friends will be back at The Tranzac on Sunday (August 11th) with the man himself back in charge and playing with Kurt Newman, alongside sets from David Sait, The Sympathetic String Band, and Nick Flanagan.]