It's his first band with his name out the front. Having spent plenty of time as an engineer and producer, working in remote communities and playing in bands like voicepopfoible, Steve Lane has put down a collection of songs that are unquestionably Australian.
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The Romance of Communication album has immediately drawn comparisons with the work of Paul Kelly, Ben Lee, Mick Thomas, Tim Freedman and The Go-Betweens.
''That stuff is really quite sobering,'' Lane says of the praise. Though with the calibre of players he has assembled - Edmondo Ammendola (from Augie March), Dave Williams (Augie March, Dan Kelly), Jimmy Williams (Paul Kelly & The Dots, The Shedshakers) and Pete Slater (Dalriada) - it's little wonder the plaudits keep coming.
''I was at a festival and Augie March were playing with Paul Kelly, and I remember saying to my partner, 'Geez, I'd like to be in a band like that,'' Lane says. ''When I wrote the songs I never thought of taking it as far as we've come. But when the line-up sort of settled, and we did a bit of touring in October, it was a real joy. It was really easy and simple.
''As a photograph in time I'm quite proud of it,'' he says of The Romance of Communication. ''I'm wise enough to know I could have lost it quite easily, and I feel proud that that I managed to pull [it off].''
Touring the single Far, Far Away, which they are doing now, you get the feeling that a few kilometres on the odometer, literally and in life, has had a positive influence on Steve Lane and the Autocrats. ''I reckon we've all had experiences of difficulties travelling with bands and I reckon if you're still doing it, you're doing it for the music in the end,'' Lane says.
And putting himself in the band's name? ''I think it's good therapy for me, but it depends on what day you ask me that. I've always been a band player, and part of it, and for me to put my name in front of something that was actually quite a massive thing … I'm not a solo player, just because I really enjoy the input of others, and so there is something in the name, the Autocrats, that plays that up a bit.''
Humour is rife in a cover they have done for Rewiggled, a Wiggles tribute album released by ABC Music late last year.
''It was just one of those opportunities that you have just got to take. It was just there. The guy said 'All right, pick out a Wiggles song, and I look up on iTunes and there are 750 odd Wiggles songs on there and I'm thinking 'Mate, what do I choose?' ''
When the first two tracks he wanted were taken, Lane let the label decide. The result is a hilarious, grungy, Aussie version of Fruit Salad. With a film clip inspired by ABC TV comedy Wilfred, it is both temperamental and insouciantly fun.
Steve Lane and the Autocrats
WITH: The Fuellers
WHEN: Sunday, 4pm-7pm
WHERE: The Front
TICKETS: $10 at the door
For full details of the festival program visit folkfestival.org.au
