Mustered Courage

'This song makes my day every time I listen to it...' - Dom Alessio - Triple J

'This song makes my day every time I listen to it...' - Dom Alessio - Triple J

Mustered Courage
RATING - 4 Stars
* * * *

In the dangerous search for middle ground, Mustered Courage manage to find the link between Bill Monroe and Mumford & Sons, with just the right mix of mirth and mournful. There’s enough here to satisfy bluegrass traditionalists, with brilliant playing and diverse vocal arrangements, while younger fans should embrace the ‘newgrass’ approach. Unlike many similar acts, they don’t rely on cheesy covers (though their fun take on Boyz II Men’s I’ll Make Love To You works). If Mustered Courage are this good a year after formation, I can’t wait for album two. By Jeff Jenkins.

Laughing Outlaw/Inertia - Music Australia Guide

Mustered Courage
RATING - 4 Stars
* * * *

In the dangerous search for middle ground, Mustered Courage manage to find the link between Bill Monroe and Mumford & Sons, with just the right mix of mirth and mournful. There’s enough here to satisfy bluegrass traditionalists, with brilliant playing and diverse vocal arrangements, while younger fans should embrace the ‘newgrass’ approach. Unlike many similar acts, they don’t rely on cheesy covers (though their fun take on Boyz II Men’s I’ll Make Love To You works). If Mustered Courage are this good a year after formation, I can’t wait for album two. By Jeff Jenkins.

Laughing Outlaw/Inertia - Music Australia Guide

Mustered Courage
by Bernard Zuel
(Laughing Outlaw)
Three and a half stars

For all the jokes about how rock musicians inevitably hit their late 30s and turn to country music as a saviour of their careers (and conversely how merely adequate country musicians try to excite by beefing up their twang) the cross fertilisation can do a lot more good than harm, notwithstanding the weaker moments of the Eagles or Garth Brooks.
The late 1960s movement of pop and rock musicians to rootsier material saw the likes of Gene Clark, George Harrison, Gram Parsons and Mike Nesmith hook up with some sceptical but also some enthusiastic artists, such as the bluegrass family band the Dillards, for exuberant combinations that revitalised both rock, which had gone arty and pretentious, and country, particularly bluegrass which was the discarded yokel cousin of mainstream country.
It’s in that same musical Venn diagram that you'll find the freshly minted Australian group, Mustered Courage, who have made a bluegrass album which rocks it up a little or a country rock record which taps into traditions alongside topical ideas. They chase you down hills with fast picked banjo and spot-on vocals in Karma, I’ll Make Love To You and Madeline, go high and sweet above the pop-flecked jamborees of Money Mouth and Good For You, but also remind you of both the Dingoes and Bernard Fanning in the melodic country rock of Take Me There and On The Run. Like fellow musical border crossers the Wilson Pickers, Mustered Courage make something old sound fresh with as much enthusiasm as skill. Nice.
- Sydney Morning Herald / The Age

Mustered Courage
by Bernard Zuel
(Laughing Outlaw)
Three and a half stars

For all the jokes about how rock musicians inevitably hit their late 30s and turn to country music as a saviour of their careers (and conversely how merely adequate country musicians try to excite by beefing up their twang) the cross fertilisation can do a lot more good than harm, notwithstanding the weaker moments of the Eagles or Garth Brooks.
The late 1960s movement of pop and rock musicians to rootsier material saw the likes of Gene Clark, George Harrison, Gram Parsons and Mike Nesmith hook up with some sceptical but also some enthusiastic artists, such as the bluegrass family band the Dillards, for exuberant combinations that revitalised both rock, which had gone arty and pretentious, and country, particularly bluegrass which was the discarded yokel cousin of mainstream country.
It’s in that same musical Venn diagram that you'll find the freshly minted Australian group, Mustered Courage, who have made a bluegrass album which rocks it up a little or a country rock record which taps into traditions alongside topical ideas. They chase you down hills with fast picked banjo and spot-on vocals in Karma, I’ll Make Love To You and Madeline, go high and sweet above the pop-flecked jamborees of Money Mouth and Good For You, but also remind you of both the Dingoes and Bernard Fanning in the melodic country rock of Take Me There and On The Run. Like fellow musical border crossers the Wilson Pickers, Mustered Courage make something old sound fresh with as much enthusiasm as skill. Nice.
- Sydney Morning Herald / The Age

Herald Sun Review
Sunday 18th September 2011
Mustered Courage – ‘Self-Titled’
File Between Lior, Mumford and Sons
There’s something magic about the dynamic between musicians who have known each and other and played together for a long time. This is certainly demonstrated by the collaboration of Nick Keeling and his friend Julian Abrahams, of Mustered Courage. The two enlisted the talents of a mandolin player and versatile percussionist and in a year scored themselves a deal with Laughing Outlaw Records to release their gem of a debut album.
The music may have a bluegrassy charm, but it is unfailingly relevant. With its string-heavy, bluesy instrumental line and its pure and charming vocal harmonies, it’s difficult not to love these guys.
4 Stars
Lauren Bruce
- The Herald Sun

Herald Sun Review
Sunday 18th September 2011
Mustered Courage – ‘Self-Titled’
File Between Lior, Mumford and Sons
There’s something magic about the dynamic between musicians who have known each and other and played together for a long time. This is certainly demonstrated by the collaboration of Nick Keeling and his friend Julian Abrahams, of Mustered Courage. The two enlisted the talents of a mandolin player and versatile percussionist and in a year scored themselves a deal with Laughing Outlaw Records to release their gem of a debut album.
The music may have a bluegrassy charm, but it is unfailingly relevant. With its string-heavy, bluesy instrumental line and its pure and charming vocal harmonies, it’s difficult not to love these guys.
4 Stars
Lauren Bruce
- The Herald Sun

This is pop inspired bluegrass that is sure to please a variety of music lovers. The cool collected soothing vocals and the beautiful collision of guitar and banjo blend together magically in a result that can be only described as beautiful. The future looks great for these young guys and as bright as the sun. - Unearthed

This is pop inspired bluegrass that is sure to please a variety of music lovers. The cool collected soothing vocals and the beautiful collision of guitar and banjo blend together magically in a result that can be only described as beautiful. The future looks great for these young guys and as bright as the sun. - Unearthed

Mustered Courage fuse an unlikely set of Bluegrass and Roots music with a catchy Rock/Pop edge that will leave you humming a tune or two and waiting around for Keith Urban to get bludgeoned. It's like waking up in the Midwest, smelling the smells of some hearty apple pie at a local diner and wondering if one of your kidneys has been harvested by the native yokels. Different but it works.

Medusa. - Triple J Unearthed

Mustered Courage fuse an unlikely set of Bluegrass and Roots music with a catchy Rock/Pop edge that will leave you humming a tune or two and waiting around for Keith Urban to get bludgeoned. It's like waking up in the Midwest, smelling the smells of some hearty apple pie at a local diner and wondering if one of your kidneys has been harvested by the native yokels. Different but it works.

Medusa. - Triple J Unearthed