Jack Nolan – The Lonely Petunia
On his eighth solo album, Jack Nolan circles back to that teenage bedroom revelation: the moment he realised Dylan, Bowie and Pink Floyd were working with the same chords he was fumbling through. “The Lonely Petunia”, recorded in Nashville with longtime collaborator Justin Weaver (who’s worked with Wynonna Judd and The Chicks), captures that sense of discovery without getting sentimental about it. For an artist who’s been releasing music since the mid-1990s and once fronted the Kelly Gang alongside Divinyls and Hoodoo Gurus bassist Rick Grossman, this feels like a deliberate step back to basics.
The record leans heavily acoustic, though Nolan and Weaver slip in piano and strings where they’re needed. These additions give tracks like “Always” and “Extraordinary” room to breathe, creating a sound that feels both close and expansive. There’s an intimacy here that doesn’t demand your attention so much as earn it. The production knows when to stay out of the way, letting Nolan’s voice and guitar carry the weight while those subtle arrangements add colour without cluttering the frame.
Nolan’s writing hits hardest on “The Less You Want To Know” and the stripped-back “You’ve Changed”, which clocks in at under three minutes but doesn’t waste a moment. He has a knack for turning everyday observations into something that sticks with you, finding the universal in the specific without forcing it. “Craw” stretches out over four minutes of careful storytelling, while “Will The Lord Have Mercy On Me” drifts into darker territory, grappling with doubt and faith in equal measure. “Bravado” pushes back with a bit more fire, suggesting that for all the album’s quieter moments, there’s still fight in these songs. “Fading Fast” closes things out with a weathered grace that feels earned rather than affected.
The Australian influence runs through the album quietly. No obvious markers, just a certain warmth and openness that speaks to Nolan’s Bondi roots showing through the Americana framework. It’s interesting how he’s absorbed American folk and roots music traditions while maintaining something distinctly his own. The Sydney Harbor rhythms he mentions in his background aren’t literally present, but there’s a sense of place here that doesn’t quite match the Nashville studio where it was recorded. That tension between influence and origin gives the album an identity that sets it apart from the countless Americana records that emerge from Music City each year.
Nolan’s voice carries the wear of someone who’s been doing this a while, calling to mind the more understated side of Father John Misty or the rawness of Justin Townes Earle. There’s no performative gravel or affectation, just the natural grain that comes from years of singing these kinds of songs. He doesn’t oversell the emotion, trusting the material to do its work.
“The Lonely Petunia” works best as a late-night listen, the kind of record that sits beside you rather than performing for you. It’s patient music for when you need something genuine, content to unfold at its own pace across eight tracks that never outstay their welcome. Nolan has made an album that understands the value of restraint, and in doing so, has crafted something that rewards repeated visits. (8/10) (Foghorn Records)
