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‘No Photographs’ is the western-tinged, dream-pop debut for Workhorse. It's the project of Kaurna land/Adelaide singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Harriet Fraser-Barbour.

Fraser-Barbour cites a number of key influences that infuse the album: vast Australian landscapes, queer western films including ‘Desert Hearts’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’, apocalyptic dreams, and the sounds of Julee Cruise, Chris Isaak and Mazzy Star.

First single 'Chain' was about “mourning the loss of friends within the constant exodus and migration to bigger cities. It’s about craving change, resenting a sense of conservative stagnancy, and seeking an ever illusive sense of belonging and of community.”

These themes are echoed elsewhere. 'Darkness' reflects on ageing, and the title track 'No Photographs' considers how we preserve fond memories and protect ourselves from painful ones.

The album took shape during Adelaide’s first lockdown in March 2020 as Harriet experimented with creating band music as a solo musician. The first eight tracks were recorded over two days on reel-to-reel tape at Milestone Recording Studio in the Adelaide hills. Harriet slowly layered additional instrumentation over the past two years, playing all instruments herself including guitar, bass, drums, slide guitar, organ and vocals, with additional pedal steel courtesy of Frank Boulden, and violin by Skye McNicol (Dag).

For the chance to win a download copy of this week's Album Of The Week, Triple R subscribers can enter here before Sunday 21 August 2022. We have a prize policy of 1 album per subscriber per month so we can share the love and make it fair for all!