WHAT: The Yearlings

WHEN: Friday, July 25 at 8pm

WHERE: The Main Bar

JUST because 12 years has passed since The Yearlings released their debut album, it doesn't mean their sound has changed dramatically.

According to the duo's Robyn Chalklen, the band has maintained the "grain and kernel" of what they are.

"It's our harmonies and I think there's still a lot of space in our songs and music," Chalklen said.

"There's still Chris' incredible guitar solos, he still goes wild, and there's still our yearning for ballads.

"There's the country feel to it which I think we will always have."

Comprised of Chalklen and her partner-in-crime Chris Parkinson, The Yearlings recently released their fifth studio album All The Wandering, once again showcasing their unique brand of Australian alt-country steeped in Americana traditions.

The 10-song collection showcases the band's quiet evolution and is dark and sparse, yet full to the brim with imagery and atmosphere. Recorded to two-inch tape on a vintage Studer 24-track tape machine, the album's soul is every bit as old as the machinery on which it was captured.

With evocative stories of country, travel, love and longing, Chalklen said the album was a natural progression from the band's previous four records.

"Like in any band that has been together as long as we have, you move on and you take on different sounds and leave some stuff behind," she said.

"There's no banjo on this album like there has been on our previous albums but there are horns so I think we were going for more of a bigger, wider sound.”

It seems to be fuller and warmer and we have a bit more diesel in the tank. We going for more of a bigger, wider sound."

Although there are some elements of the band's sound that have changed and others that will remain familiar to fans, one thing is for sure the lyrics are as Yearling as they come.

"There is the old melancholy and tragedy feel to some of the songs," Chalklen said.

"In life we are both quite happy people but our songs don't seem to come out that way.

"I think it's how that side of myself is expressed.

"And it's the kind of music I like listening to.