Jolene: The Country Music Blog (Dec 09, 2014)
“sounds like its creator has put himself into a particular mindset: when stories were sung around campfires, to a small circle of listeners who paid attention and could see the singer’s emotions written on his face as well as hear them in his voice.”
“The way the songs are sung makes you think of lazy summer days after school has broken up for the year and there is nothing but time and heat between you and the new year; or days when rain traps you inside and you potter around listening to music, wanting something that is a comfortable companion but which doesn’t put you to sleep. Something to make a cup of tea to, or to sit on a bottle of whiskey with.”
Country Update (Dec 06, 2014)
“(Set in Stone is) an album richly veined with detail.”
“the singer’s impressive powers of lyrical invention often rest on the deftest of touches”
Post To Wire (Nov 24, 2014)
“Set In Stone is the result of an adventurous musical mind set on creating both free-wheelin’ and carefully constructed and detailed songs.”
“It’s indulgent, confident, and both playful and soul-searching. A complex affair, it’ll be interesting to hear where Newton’s muse guides him next.”
“an accomplished collection of beautifully played and recorded songs that shows Newton’s wistful way with folk and sometimes country melodies”
The Sydney Morning Herald (Nov 21, 2014)
“It is that ability to construct complex underlying patterns in his songs which is his real strength…”
“a wonderful intensity in his arrangements and delivery”
The Sydney Morning Herald (Dec 09, 2011)
“carries enough weight to demand more than a courteous glance in his direction”
“vividly illustrated storytelling.”