The dark-voiced and slick-haired Williams' new single Dark Child, written by close friend Tim Moore, is slightly atypical of the singer's output.
Romantic and nostalgic, it's a layered and cinematic take on folk music, more atmospheric and less traditional than his earlier work.
Front and centre is Williams' voice: smooth, sad, and coated with gentlemanly charisma.
He most certainly croons.
The Yarra Benders, Williams' new four-piece band - perhaps named after his recent two-month residency at Melbourne's Yarra Hotel - will bring the songs' richer textures to life in concert.
Williams, a former resident of Lyttelton and two-time New Zealand Music Award-winning leader of the alt-country band Unfaithful Ways, relocated to Melbourne in 2013 and began performing under his own name.
Dark Child is the first single of his debut solo album, due for release in April this year.
BUZZY BLUES
Bluesy psych performer Daniel Madill brings mellow songwriting back to Dunedin this month for two shows as part of his 2015 Summer tour.
In the past few years, Madill has been a steady presence on the Dunedin music scene, fronting the Peeling Room and the Painted Ocean before recently shifting ports to Christchurch.
Madill released his debut album Submariner's Dilemma while resident in the city in 2013.
Its laptop folk gently combined subtle electronic sounds and acoustic guitar.
Now, Madill is supporting his new EP Diatom, a stripped back and laid-bare set of recordings.
The EP was recorded on an old Tascam MF-P01 four-track cassette portastudio with a little help from digital space and, according to Madill, no song fights its way beyond a second take.
''Guitar a little buzzy? All good here,'' Madill says. ''That's how I play it in the bars and you get what you pay for there.''
The EP is available for purchase at the shows and comes in a stylishly minimalist, recycled, and environmentally conscious brown-paper packet.
The Dunedin duo of Robin Cederman and Penelope Esplin aka Grawlixes support Madill at his first show, while former ODT music columnist Darryl Baser opens the second.
AT THE HOP
Tonight, hard-drivin' gravel-voiced Dunedin blues mainstay King Leo performs a special fundraiser to help with the upkeep of the beautiful McCurdy-Grimman Hall at Long Beach.
The ninth annual Long Blues Ball also features five-piece Dunedin alt-country band Both Sides of the Line.
