When you can call on a cast of players already renowned for defining the Australian independent music scene, you know the result can only be good. And this is the fortunate position that we find our brace of Davids, that is Messrs Beniuk and Challenger, as they offer up the latest EP from The Summertimes. The great and good that join them for this latest chapter come in the form of Tumbleweed’s Stephen O’Brien, Steve Bull of ICEHOUSE fame, Marco Forlano of The Mustard and Ashley Naylor, whose credits include The Church and Paul Kelly. Add to that a guest appearance from The Go-Between’s Amanda Brown and you have the makings of something special, surely.
And it doesn’t take long to confirm such suspicions. Even as opener and recent single, Save You Now jangles, spirals, and spins into listeners’ consciousness, the sense that the band have found that sacred sweet spot where rock meets pop and the underground goes effortlessly overground is more than valid.
‘Horses’ blends hazy pop with more robust rock ‘n’ roll urges, creating a balance of drive, delicacy, and folky finesse that is hard to put into words. So I won’t. Instead, I will point out that ‘See Me’ rides around on wonderful dynamic ebbs and flows ‘Falling’ is the sort of song that the likes of Neil Finn would wrestle you bodily to the ground to get his hands on…if he were that sort of guy…and the title track jangles the EP out perfectly. Arrays of lovely Byrdsian guitars bop boyantly, again showing not only the high benchmarks the band sets for itself but also reminding us that erring on the side of melody, as opposed to muscle, always pays dividends.
Five great tracks, all warm and welcoming, a blend of power and pop and poise, which remind us of the heyday (pun intended) of accessible, antipodean alternative rock, and given the people found in the lineup, less a nod back to such times, more a continuation of the joyous job at hand and the carrying of a torch they all helped light into a bright and bountiful new sonic future.
Luminous music…and then some!
