The Waifs

For those who came in late, the road looms large and long in the Waifs' inspirational tale of self-determined international success. It intersected for sisters Donna and Vikki and guitarist Josh in a remote corner of the Western Australian desert some 15 years ago.

Their mobile cottage industry of campfire-crafted songs and independently recorded, gold-selling CDs slowly reached critical mass in Australia between '96 and '00, while their captivating on-stage chemistry spilled into a contagious festival following through Europe and North America.

The Waifs' rainswept radio smash of '02, "London Still", led to a US release deal with Compass Records and ever more touring – with Bob Dylan among others – while their aforementioned watershed album, Up All Night, stormed mainstream and alternative charts back home, and picked up ARIA Awards including Best Independent, and Best Blues And Roots Release.

A live retrospective, A Brief History, was another multi-platinum success in '05. It was also a full-stop of sorts, as Donna and Vikki concentrated on motherhood in their respective homes in Minnesota and Utah. After a final show in New York in August, Josh joined Missy Higgins as a hired gun.

As usual, bassist Ben Franz and drummer David MacDonald are back in the engine room for "sundirtwater", which was co-produced by Compass Records' Garry West. "He was all about getting good sounds up, getting everyone to feel good and capturing a mood and a moment," says Josh. "The songs are essentially as they were when they were written."