Front Deck Boom Box: Raechel Whitchurch

Raechel Whitchurch is an alt-country singer-songwriter who grew up in regional NSW performing in her family band The Lees. In April 2021, she released her debut album, Finally Clear, featuring the hit singles My Father, You Ain’t One of Us (which we premiered here) and I Used To Think I Was An Outlaw. It debuted at #1 on the ARIA Australian Country Album Charts and #3 on the AIR Independent Album Charts.

Earlier this year, the 2022 Golden Guitar ‘New Talent of the Year’ finalist released an expanded deluxe edition of the album as well as her new single, Sure Thing (Reimagined). Re-arranged and recorded by multi-award-winning producer Matt Fell at his Love Hz Studios, Raechel explains, “Matt had never heard the original version of the song, so I gave him the reigns to produce it in whatever way he thought. The new version is completely different. It is piano driven and doesn’t even have an acoustic guitar on it! I decided to call it Sure Thing (Reimagined) because it was so different to what I imagined it could be.”

We caught up with Raechel Whitchurch to find out what songs she’s listening to for this week’s Front Deck Boom Box.

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Colin Buchanan – In Real Life

Colin Buchanan is one of my favourite Australian lyricists. He hasn’t released a country album in over a decade, so when I heard he had a new country single out, I was ecstatic! This song is all about being with the people we love, in real life (rather than what we’ve all been doing the last 2 years!) A serious topic tackled with great optimism, just what we need right now!

Camille Trail – I Know I’m Hard To Love

Big fan of Camille Trail. Her voice is so raw and honest, and I’m blown away whenever I remember she’s in her early 20s. She has a way of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Side note: my husband and I have a little joke at home - when one of us is being unreasonable, the other will sing to them, “I know you’re hard to love sometimes”. A real fam fave.

Troy Cassar-Daley – Doin’ Time

I’m a long time Troy Cassar-Daley fan, but his new album feels as though he’s pulled back the layers and let us have a closer look at who he is. Doin’ Time is a favourite because of how Troy sings it. Every line sounds as though his voice is barely able to hold in the emotion, which truly encompasses the song. My heart breaks whenever I hear it, in the best possible way.

Felicity Urquhart – Frozen Rabbit

Felicity Urquhart’s Frozen Rabbit album is, in my opinion, her best album yet. There is so much meaning and substance on this record, and the title track is so haunting. When she sings “tick tock, tick tock, running for your life won’t beat the clock”, it says so much in just a few words. This album won big at the Golden Guitar awards in 2019 and it’s easy to see why.

James McMurtry – Canola Fields

The new James McMurtry album is so good. His songwriting is so descriptive and evokes such emotion – you really feel like you’re a part of the story he’s telling. Canola Fields is the opening track and from the very first line - “I was thinking bout you, crossing Southern Alberta, Canola Fields on a July day” - I was hooked. 

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Keep up to date with everything Raechel Whitchurch and follow her on Facebook here.

And check out some more of our Front Deck Boom Box series here.