It's fair to say that intriguing Aussie popsters' THE BOAT PEOPLE'S reputation precedes. Having wowed their native Australian underground with a string of quirkily intelligent releases, they release their second album 'Chandeliers' on the back of a critically-acclaimed Great Escape Festival appearance and a string of UK dates which have had their name bandied around in all the right circles.
All well and good, of course, but this reviewer has frequently been in a position where he's ended up feeling underwhelmed by a hotly-tipped item. Thankfully, though, 'Chandeliers' suggests that not only are The Boat People are welcome (temporary?) refugees on European shores, but that they are capable of wringing fresh energy out of indie rock's flagging constitution.
The tongue-twisting opener 'Awkward Orchid Orchard' immediately bodes well. By turns lush'n'dreamy and chugging'n'edgy, it's reminiscent of Antipodean ancestors such as Crowded House or The Chills without ever sounding remotely derivative. It's the first of a whole brace of goodies, with tunes like the swaying and romantic 'As If I Could' and the celebratory 'Light Of Love (You Got A)' cementing the favourable impression very quickly indeed.
One of the the things that's instantly likeable about The Boat People is the way they keep you guessing. Sure, there are echoes of familiarity in everything from the way vocalist Robin Waters can sound sleepy and somnolent like Elliott Smith (the early part of 'Unsettle My Heart') to the way a track like 'Babysnake”s initial riff can sound like an interloper from the 'Nuggets' box set. Yet just as soon as they've teased you with these reference points, their songs then veer away in wholly different directions. 'Unsettle My Heart', for example, may start off all gentle and Smith-esque, but that certainly doesn't account for Charles Dugan's dissonant guitar and the way the song feels the need to periodically explode all over the shop. Very engagingly, I might add.
|
Lyrically, too, The Boat People are ahead of the game. OK, some turns of phrase such as “I hooked up with this girl, she was foxy and erudite” ('Hours'n'Hours') can't fail to recall the likes of Robert Forster, but when they can marry fabulous observations like “your decision is the cause of the sweat sticking to my back” with a honey of a tune like they do on 'On Your Side' then they really can't fail in my book.
The Boat People, then, are an inventive and intelligent crew. This writer has personally felt somewhat short-changed by the much-hyped cerebral pop pretenders such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Broken Social Scene in recent times, but in this case the tunes, energy and emotional depth keep pace with the quirks. 'Chandelier' hangs brightly and casts a very favourable glow indeed.
(http://www.myspace.com/theboatpeople)
|
