Biography
Australia's Tex Crick crafts melodic piano pop marked by gentle sentiment and sharp wit, echoing the approach of earlier songwriters Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson. Growing up in the small coastal community of Coledale in New South Wales, he began making music while still in high school and regularly traveled two hours by train to Sydney for shows. One such trip introduced him to Kirin J. Callinan, who recruited the young musician on the spot for his band. Extensive road work with Callinan soon opened doors to other projects, and by the late 2010s Crick had performed with Iggy Pop, Weyes Blood, and Connan Mockasin. At the same time he honed a distinctive songwriting voice grounded in 1970s pop and soft rock.
While touring with Mockasin in New York, Crick crossed paths with Mac DeMarco and received an invitation to the producer's birthday celebration. Their friendship deepened, and between other engagements Crick leased an apartment in the city, dividing his time between writing songs and learning piano tuning and repair. He restored a discarded upright piano discovered on a Queens street and captured the bulk of his debut recordings on the instrument, often leaving the window open to incorporate urban ambient sounds. DeMarco handled the mixing and signed Crick as the inaugural artist to Mac's Record Label. The resulting album, Live In...New York City, appeared in March 2021. Two years later Crick issued Sweet Dreamin', on which he performed nearly every instrument himself while expanding his warm, 1970s-rooted palette.
While touring with Mockasin in New York, Crick crossed paths with Mac DeMarco and received an invitation to the producer's birthday celebration. Their friendship deepened, and between other engagements Crick leased an apartment in the city, dividing his time between writing songs and learning piano tuning and repair. He restored a discarded upright piano discovered on a Queens street and captured the bulk of his debut recordings on the instrument, often leaving the window open to incorporate urban ambient sounds. DeMarco handled the mixing and signed Crick as the inaugural artist to Mac's Record Label. The resulting album, Live In...New York City, appeared in March 2021. Two years later Crick issued Sweet Dreamin', on which he performed nearly every instrument himself while expanding his warm, 1970s-rooted palette.
Albums
Singles
