The Whitlams Black Stump - Kookaburra

Kookaburra is the eighth studio album by Australian indie rock band The Whitlams, released in March 2024 via E.G. Records.

This is the first bands country themed album released under the name “The Whitlams Black Stump”.

Tim Freedman's alt-country project The Whitlams Black Stump sees him and longtime drummer Terepai Richmond joined by an A Team of roots musicians, reconstructing the best of The Whitlams' repertoire with a smattering of new songs and classic Americana.

The five piece band features Rod McCormack and Matt Fell, two CMAA Producers of the Year, on banjo and bass, and young gun Ollie Thorpe on electric and pedal steel guitar.

About making a country album, lead singer Tim Freedman said "…I am a parochial lyric writer, and country music has a strong sense of time and place, so clothing my stories in a country music coat seemed like a natural progression to me, I had to scratch that itch and investigate..”.

The mid 2022 single "The Day John Sattler Broke His Jaw" became a staple on Country radio, as did the follow up, a reworking of The Whitlams JJJ Hot 100 no. 1, “No Aphrodisiac”, which Countrytown called "a three-minute banjo-fied instant classic".

This album is on black vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve, pressed in Australia via E.G. Records and MGM.