Music Reviews

Midnight Oil

20,000 Watt R.S.L.

Columbia

Ozzite. Snappy. Crisp and clean as hell. Even when it rolls in the mud left from a freak rainstorm on the Nullabor. Joyce likes “Power and the Passion” a whole lot, and so do I. And the rest of it’s real good, too.

These fellows are quite adept at the operation of the instruments they play. Definite A-Team stuff. On top of that lies a stratum of lyrics that actually SAY something every once in a while. Imagine that. Nothing is overplayed. Nothing is underplayed. Ripping good surf music for when it’s double overhead plus, squarebottoms over a nasty ledge in the reef, and you’re two hundred klicks from nowhere way way too far from Perth. Hope the damn car don’t break down.

Lonesome. Lonesome in a very familiar and warming way.

This CD is a compilation of shit from ‘79 to ‘97. Weirdly enough, whoever put this one together actually seems to know what the hell they were about. Pleasant bang and crack amongst the squallings and moans that are so pervasive elsewhere. Thanks for this one, Dom. It’s gonna see the player on a regular basis.


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