News · 22 March 2026

William Crighton Drops New Album ‘Colonial Drift’

The record includes the singles ‘Further Down the Road’, ‘Sex, Death & Choices’ and ‘Beautiful Country’.

Australian bush psych singer-songwriter William Crighton has released his fourth long player, Colonial Drift, via ABC Music.

The album features the singles ‘Further Down the Road’, ‘Sex, Death & Choices’ and ‘Beautiful Country’ and is a personal project Crighton co-wrote with his wife and creative partner, Julieanne Crighton.

Recorded at The Grove Studios by Damian Charles and in William’s own home studio, Colonial Drift includes contributions from Jeff Lang, William Barton, Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), Matt Sherrod (Crowded House), Chris Dale (Melody Pool, Ben Leece), Reuben Alexander (Ratcat, Ben Folds) and more.

Reflecting on the album's inspiration, William says, “I have a drive inside me to explore the tension between country, nation, our collective history and the personal relationships we have with each other as we continue to build this story of ‘Australia’ together.

“I love this place; it's complicated. We haven't fully reconciled our history, and we're living in wild times, staring down the barrel of a very uncertain future that can feel overwhelming, if we can get away from images of hypersonic rockets or AI influencers long enough to consider it. The trap of turning against each other is real, but so is building a more hopeful future. Julieanne and I wrote this record exploring the conflict and the common ground.”

Crighton has also released a music video for the track ‘Warzone’, which was filmed by him and his wife just an hour after they learned of Hirst’s death.

“Rob was a mate and a mentor to us both,” says Julieanne. “We didn't know if we'd be able to do the video. But William drew inspiration from Rob's voice echoing through the gums and I think you can see the salt and fire in his eyes because of that.”

Crighton is celebrating the release of Colonial Drift with a 12-date tour of Australia and New Zealand across April and May.

The tour kicks off in Brisbane with a gig at Old Museum on Saturday 11 April. This is followed by concerts at Adelaide’s Lion Arts Factory on Friday 17 April, Perth’s The Rechabite on Saturday 18 April, Lower Belford’s The Gum Ball on Saturday 25 April, Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal on Thursday 7 May, Brunswick’s Howler on Friday 8 May and Anglesea’s The Sound Doctor on Saturday 9 May.

Crighton then heads to New Zealand for two shows at Wellington’s San Fran on Wednesday 20 May and Auckland’s Tuning Fork on Thursday 21 May before returning to Australia for the last shows of the tour at Wollongong’s La La La’s on Friday 29 May and Sydney’s Crowbar on Saturday 30 May.

Tickets for all shows are on sale now at williamcrightonmusic.com.au.

Colonial Drift is out now via ABC Music. Listen here. Catch William Crighton at Lion Arts Factory on Friday 17 April. Tickets on sale at moshtix.com.au.