Augie March - Moo, You Bloody Choir

Moo, You Bloody Choir is not a title you'd readily associate with Australia's sun-blushed pastures. The phrase is so awash with cynicism it's almost natural to assume this is yet another introspective release from a doom-harbingering troupe of Scots. But Melbourne outfit Augie March prove you don't require perennially grey skies to create stirring melancholy. Threading a soulful needle through a cloak of hazy melodies and brittle country trickles, the group's third LP appears unshapely but develops into a well-fitted shawl of sound. Burdened by the maudlin balladry of Victoria's Secrets, the opening half is as drippy as it is forgettable. But once the tigerish riff of Just Passing Through growls its way into the breezy banjo tweaks of Thin Captain Crackers, what transpires is a captivating fusion of campfire laments and rich harmonic fluttering. While not quite a master-class in morbidity, Moo... is haunting enough to engross the most sombre of hearts. [Billy Hamilton]