Out today, Stephen Cummings new EP Joy is a trip through five decades of Australian songwriting – reframed, reinterpreted and completely reborn in Cummings’ unmistakable voice.
Produced by longtime collaborator Robert Goodge, the sessions bring together a dream ensemble: harmony vocals from Leah and Andi Senior, guitars from Sam Lemann, pedal steel from the great Graham Lee, and rhythm section contributions from Bill McDonald and Michael Davis. The arrangements are warm, bright, and quietly adventurous — the sound of veteran musicians breathing together.
Cummings’ selection could easily be a mini-curriculum in Australian alternative history: Dag’s Living in the Balance (2021), Jess Ribeiro’s Unfamiliar Ground (2015), Pel Mel’s angular classic No Word from China (1980), and Spectrum’s Fly Without Its Wings (1971). In Cummings’ hands, these songs soften and deepen; edges blur, emotions sharpen, and melodies open up like windows.
The Senior sisters lift the material into new territory, their harmonies wrapping around Cummings’ weathered, intimate delivery. The effect is luminous – familiar songs suddenly illuminated from a different angle.
Released on 12″ vinyl and digital formats, Joy feels both like a tribute and a continuation: a veteran songwriter excavating the emotional core of great Australian songs and offering them back, newly polished, deeply personal, and profoundly moving.
Stephen Cummings Joy EP is available now from Cheersquad Records & Tapes.