Jack Ladder

Jack Ladder serves as the stage name for Tim Rogers, an Australian singer and songwriter born in Sydney. His first release arrived in 2005 under the title Not Worth Waiting For, an album rooted primarily in acoustic arrangements that drew parallels to the style of Bill Callahan from Smog—an artist frequently cited as a key influence. By 2008 he had repositioned himself as a shadowy new wave rocker, issuing the sparse yet uptempo Love Is Gone, a record that expanded his reach beyond Australia through a nomination for the Australian Music Prize and receipt of a Red Bull Music Award. Around the same period he joined forces with the American band Okkervil River on their album The Stand Ins and took on bass duties for Bill Callahan’s touring ensemble, an experience documented on the 2010 live release Rough Travel for a Rare Thing. Ahead of his third album, Ladder’s work adopted a moodier and more cinematic character, supported by a fresh ensemble known as the Dreamlanders. His deep baritone and wryly melancholic phrasing invited frequent comparisons to fellow Australian Nick Cave, most notably on the 2011 album Hurtsville, the first to feature the Dreamlanders. The 2014 successor Playmates again enlisted the same group, though the music had shifted toward a brighter, synth-driven strain of dark indie pop.