Kingswood’s evolution from rock to country has been both gradual and judicious. After releasing a twangy reimagining of their 2020 album Juveniles in the form of Reveries, the Melbourne quartet fully embraced alt-country on 2023’s Home. Just eight months later, they’ve gone a step further with the sparse and story-driven bluegrass of The Tale of G.C. Townes. Produced by lead guitarist Alex Laska, these songs were cut during the same Queensland ranch sessions that yielded Home. The results are stirring at every turn, with vocalist Fergus Linacre acquitting himself well indeed in this new setting. And the guests are plentiful, including fiddler Billy Contreras and vocalist Steph Greenwood on the darkly romantic “God Already Knows”, mandolinist Shaun Richardson on the decidedly folky “How Many Times” and in-demand multi-instrumentalist Shane Reilly all over the record. Those extra elements shine especially brightly on the textured instrumental “Jet”, while Linacre’s self-aware lyrics elevate “Tell Me a Story” to the very songwriting tradition he describes. Kingswood do deploy a more rocking arrangement on “Glass Half Full”—cue a blazing guitar solo—but overall the album gets more rustic as it progresses, culminating in a group sing-along and saloon-style piano on “Mumma Fly Me Home”.