Henry Wagons Essentials

An influential mainstay of Melbourne alt-country, Henry Wagons first established himself in that scene with his titular band, Wagons. Tracks like 2011’s “Willie Nelson” proved cheekily self-aware, calling out genre expectations while he chewed the scenery both lyrically and vocally. After dabbling in solo work with the 2012 duets outing “Expecting Company?” and starting Double J’s popular Tower of Song radio show in 2015, he began to do increasingly more on his lonesome. Wagons’ keen sense of playfulness has remained very much intact: Note the exaggerated barroom lurch and chain-gang motifs of 2016’s “King Hit,” which makes the most of his robust baritone. Yet, he can also come off perfectly sincere, as on 2023’s Johnny Cash-style lament “I Don’t Know When It Is I’m Gonna Die.” With all that prowling darkness in his voice, it’s easy to see why Wagons reached out to Melbourne solo artist Queenie as a vocal counterpoint on 2024’s “Big City Blues.” Their contrast of glowering portent and twangy sass instantly evoked the classic pairing of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, leading to an entire album together in 2025’s colorfully retro Queenie & Hank.