Charge Group - Escaping Mankind

Australia has a pretty damn good musical history, from Kylie and Jason to John ‘The Voice’ Farnham. Charge Group, however, situate themselves in the musical outback of the Dirty Three, the Laughing Clowns or piano-ballad era Nick Cave producing minimal and melancholic ‘rock’. Drums and bass keep pace while delicate guitar and violin intertwine, not quite rock, not quite folk, but taken instead into the realm of the melancholy pop song by the over-earnest and introspective vocals. Their sound is one that requires patience and attentiveness to truly appreciate, but patience is not a virtue always reserved for yet another slow, sad and delicate lovelorn pop song, however good the presentation. The second half of the record is a far more rewarding listen (pulling the old vinyl trick of Side A: Pop, Side B: Eh?), the songs build from subtle violin or hypnotic, bell-like guitar with that heartfelt singing thankfully kept to a minimum. Certainly, it's an LP of two halves.