Luke Austen is the winner of this year's Toyota Starmaker, the national talent search that launched the careers of Keith Urban, Lee Kernaghan, Samantha McClymont and many others. But Luke is no blow in. He earned his stripes touring the outback with country music icon Brian Young for four years before becoming a mainstay of Troy Cassar Daley's band from 2004 until now. He's also had songs recorded by Troy and Adam Harvey. Produced by Graham Thompson Adam Brand, the Sunny Cowgirls Light of Day is a confident and compelling debut. It's very much a country album in it's sound and it's themes. In the tradition of the best country artists you feel that you are getting to know the artist as you listen to his music. Nine of the twelve songs on Light of Day were written by Luke and his various writing partners Troy Cassar Daley, Adam Harvey and Vaughan Jones. The three outside songs came from the nearby pens of Troy, Don Walker & Peter Denahy. The stories are broad in content and all thoroughly engaging. They range from the joys of first time fatherhood on She's So You to touring with Brian Young on Cloncurry and choosing between a girl and a car on HQ454 Monroe. One of the standout songs is Sacred Bones, the chilling true story of Luke's father discovering aboriginal remains in a cave while hunting dingoes. Sacred Bones features Troy Cassar Daley on harmony vocals and mandolin. Another prominent guest is pedal steel player Mike Daly, a member of Ryan Adam's seminal alternative country band Whiskeytown. Daly's sublime pedal steel and edge of the cliff lap steel playing, along with Vaughan Jones' stylistic piano playing give Light of Day it's freshness.