Third album from Dave Favours & the Roadside Ashes and shows a band working within a sound they’ve gradually solidified – part Oz pub-rock heritage, part alt-country, with neither element overstated. Rather than stretching into new territory, the record takes past ideas and presents them with clearer focus.
Tracks like “Waterfront Blues” and “Already Done” sit comfortably in the lineage of late-80s pub venues and guitar-driven bands such as The Screaming Tribesmen, The Johnnys and Beasts of Bourbon. The approach is direct: guitars forward, rhythm steady, arrangements unfussy. Elsewhere, the heartland strain is more apparent. “Dinin’ Out”, “Dreaming with the Dead” and “A Town That Never Was” reflect long-standing influences like Tom Petty and the Rolling Stones without leaning heavily on imitation.
The alt-country side remains present, particularly on the Wilco-shaded “Rosalie” and the pedal-steel-coloured cover of Radio Birdman/The Hitmen’s “Didn’t Tell the Man”. Favours has said he aimed for a record not confined to a single lane, pointing to the use of dobro, violin and more straightforward rock-and-roll to widen the range. The title track lands closest to that balance — equal parts Saints, Lucero and Drive-By Truckers.
Dave Favours & The Roadside Ashes – Service Station Chicken is out now on digital and vinyl via Stanley Records.