“Stone On Stone” is the first solo album this century by Greg Williams, the singer and songwriter behind The Young Homebuyers, Play Loud, The Everys and Splurge.

The record is built on a foundation of strong songs and a core band sound, but there were times during its construction that its creator wondered if its simple design would ever be realised.

The plan hatched in a band room in the wake of a one-off reunion gig deviated from the back-to-basics blueprint as one band member left before the recording had even begun and then—after starting over with a new bass player—the guitarist left just after tracking at Sing Sing.

Undeterred, Greg enlisted guitarist Ashley Naylor (Paul Kelly, The Church) whose hard-driving and lyrical guitar playing gave the record a second life. But then… the pandemic.

“Making music doesn’t always have to be easy to make, it can be really hard, especially when you are pushing your limits,” Greg says now. “But when you are chasing the good stuff—for all the right reasons—it can take time to get to the end.”

In the end, he created a tight 12-song collection of melodic and moody rock songs that bring to mind the timeless songwriting craft of Crowded House, The Go-Betweens and Oasis.

The new album blends all that with a love letter to the raw sound of classic Australian rock music, cemented by the punchy production of Kevin Shirley (Divinyls, Hoodoo Gurus).

With a band including the long-time Splurge rhythm section—Owen Smythe (drums) and Adrian Ricciotti (bass)—and Ashley Naylor, augmented by Steve Nieve (Elvis Costello & The Attractions/Imposters), James Black (Black Sorrows), Greg Arnold (Things of Stone and Wood) and Richard Pleasance (Boom Crash Opera), the album announces his late arrival as a solo artist.

Greg is already working on a follow-up, again with Ashley Naylor, the acoustic guitar-driven album “Castaway”.