Source: Two Fish Out of Water
Augie March are one of Australia’s most revered acts, and after a listen to their early works, Sunset Studies (2000), Strange Bird (2002), and Moo You Bloody Choir (2006), it isn’t difficult to understand why. The music is lush, intricate, thoughtful Aussie-folk, and the lyrics of front man Glenn Richards are – quite simply – yet to be matched by another Australian lyricist. There’s not many in the world better than this bloke.
Watch Me Disappear (2008) represented a serious departure for the band. Their early works were soft and warm; Disappear on the other hand is crisp, polished, and brooding. The level of shine and polish can be mostly attributed to the influence of talented US producer, Joe Chicarelli, and although the sharpness of Chicarelli’s style could have been incongruous with Augie March’s own soft flavours, the songs are played with such tongue-in-cheek earnestness that they just work.
Disappear works well because of this earnest, but also through extreme focus. It runs for only 44 minutes, which is relatively short in comparison to other Augie March albums. In these minutes, it moves deftly between cuts like the bizzaro march of “City of Rescue”, into the dark folk of “Dogsday”, before closing on a sombre note, with “The Devil In Me”.
The key track on the album though, is “Pennywhistle”. It’s an absolute peach of a song, driven by an insatiably gorgeous melody played against Richards’ bittersweet poetry. It’s the kind of song you couldn’t listen to without a smile, and by the time the choir joins in on the closing chorus, you’ll be struggling to keep a plucky grin off your face.
Augie March will be performing at the Opera House on Australia Day eve. Tickets are still available here. They are touring their latest release, Havens Dumb (2014). Have a listen – it’s an absolute winner.
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