Simon Bonney

by Richie Unterberger
As the lead singer of Crime & the City Solution (which featured several ex-members of the Birthday Party), Bonney was an important figure on the Australias post-punk scene. On his own, hes moved to a much rootsier, less gothic angst-infused sound. Much of that transformation is due to his relocation to the United States, where he hung out with L.A. country-influenced rockers who had played with Dwight Yoakam and True Believers. His two solo albums were lyrically inspired by American landscapes, sounding at times like post-modern takes on the sound of Johnny Cash or Marty Robbins. Bonney, however, with the help of his multi-instrumentalist wife Bronwyn Adams, uses a much wider range of sounds than Cash, including mandolin, violin, dobro, steel guitar, keyboards, cello, and horns.