
Pic by Jared Harrison
Howdy folks
Welcome to May. We’re getting a cold blast and huge swells here on the Central Coast of NSW.
There’s been some news behind the scenes at Moldre HQ (ie my currently very cold music room at home) and I’d like to give you all the latest. There’s a fair amount of info here, I hope you can make it to the end.
RADIO
Nambucca Fables has been receiving radio play across the continent – it was also one of the featured albums on 2serFM a couple of weeks ago. Double J, FBi, ABC, 3RRR and 4ZZZ to name but a few have all been featuring different tracks. Thanks to all the stations for their support. You can listen to a couple of interviews online at the links below. I also had the privilege to chat with POST TO WIRE for their “6 Strings Q+A”.
2serFM The Outpost
3WAYFM Guided By Wire 27-4-23
Antipodes Radio
POST TO WIRE: SIX STRINGS
REVIEWS
Very occasionally a review comes along that makes you feel completely understood. Reviews like this one in RHYTHMS MAGAZINE make this whole music-making malarkey worthwhile. Special thanks to Jeff Jenkins.
MARK MOLDRE
Nambucca Fables (Yellow Moon Records)
“The worst thing in the world,” said F. Scott Fitzgerald, “is to try to sleep and not to.”
Four years after his last album, Fever Dreams, Mark Moldre’s mind remains ruffled, his pillow restless. He writes songs about the early hours, when your brain won’t switch off and thoughts are ringing in your head.
In the first single from his fourth solo album, Moldre confides:
“Every waking hour I’m just dyin’ to go back to sleep.” In ‘This Little Town’, he sings about “the sweet relief of sleep” while in ‘Ghost Guitar’ he is “deep in the night”. Then there’s the songs ‘Wisteria Sleeps’ and ‘Dream Decay’. “Wake up, I don’t want to stay”, he declares.
Sounds bleak, but it’s not.
Moldre – who’s based in Wamberal in NSW – has crafted a record that’s a perfect middle-of-the-night companion. A record that will make you forget your insomnia, and revel in its dark beauty and clever instrumentation, which will have you discovering something new with every listen.
The setting is rustic, the songs are robust. Nambucca Fables is left-of-centre but there’s something here for everyone, with songs about love, loss, longing, memories, dreams and home. They will linger long in your mind, like ‘New Suit’, where the singer tells the moving story of his mother’s funeral. He’s awkwardly wearing his new suit, feeling numb as the fellow mourners talk to him, but then he repeats the song’s key line:
“Your love will live for evermore.”
It’s glorious.
Mark Moldre might just be the best Australian songwriter you’ve never heard of. Nambucca Fables shows that he should be on your radar.
JEFF JENKINS
You can also check out this review from across the other side of the globe courtesy of UKAmericana
YOU CAN PURCHASE NAMBUCCA FABLES HERE
SHOWS

First up, many of you may already know (if you’ve been hovering around the socials) that my eldest daughter, Bronte, was diagnosed with a rare and hard to treat form of breast cancer at the tender age of 21. You can read more details about that at her GoFundMe page. We’ve experienced a difficult few months since her diagnosis last November. It looks as though her treatment will continue well into 2024. Wonderfully, a few of my musical friends have banded together and organised a fundraiser for all ages at the Petersham Bowling Club on Friday May 26th. The Finalists, Joeys Coop, The Gin Palace and Infinity Broke have all joined the lineup. What a beautiful thing. I’ll be playing a handful of songs too.
Tickets HERE
Facebook Event
Also I’ll be playing two shows to kick off the launch of Nambucca Fables in Sydney and on the Central Coast. Both shows are free of charge.
The Golden Barley Hotel ENMORE with our friends RESTLESS LEG on Saturday 24th June. Facebook Event
Link and Pin WOY WOY with our friends THE FINALISTS on Sunday 9th July 2-4PM. All ages. Facebook Event
NAMBUCCA COVERS
Finally, I am currently giving away a free bonus CD-R entitled “Nambucca Covers!” with every physical purchase of Nambucca Fables (CD or Vinyl) – until I run out. The songs were recorded at home during lockdowns – with most tracks being started with a guitar and vocal recorded live in one take around a single microphone. Then I added any instruments that I could find in my wardrobe. It includes 11 tracks featuring The Felice Brothers, Tom Waits, Howe Gelb, Ron Sexsmith, Robert Palmer, Big Thief, Sammy Fain, Neil Young, Elliot Smith and Loose Fur. It will only be available as a giveaway and will not be found on streaming services.
GRAB A BONUS CD-R WITH NAMBUCCA FABLES HERE

I think that pretty much covers all the current news. If you made it this far you have my thanks for being so attentive!
Go gently
Love
Mark