Indie folk with plenty of jangle.
Occasionally an album comes along that is just a joy. It reminds you of sunny days and can genuinely improve your state of mind. This new collection from the Australian indie-folk group Indian Pacific does just that. It is reminiscent of the mid-90s when we had Britpop, Cool Britannia and a Labour government. The jangly guitar is ever present throughout.
Indian Pacific is the brainchild of songwriter, musician and producer Charlie Wells. Wells has spent most of his life on the East Coast of Australia. The band name comes from that stretch from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. The first single from the collection ‘Mallee Country’ opens the album and sets the mood for the rest of the session. Wells sings, “Mallee Country is not an easy place” as he captures the feeling of this north-westerly part of Victoria, Australia.
‘Bottled Up Inside’ invokes the spirit of early Oasis without the drawling Liam Gallagher vocals. The background guitar is so reminiscent of the Mancunian legends that you may be excused for thinking Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs had joined the band. This is not a bad thing, the song moves along at a gorgeous, lilting pace, and that guitar hook is stunning. “Where do you go when you are not around, you’re vanishing, you can’t be found”. A feeling we can all potentially relate to. ‘Avalon’ gives us a change of pace with what is a slower brooding melody with that ever-present guitar high in the mix.
The title track is arguably the stand-out one in the set. Wells uses his voice well and the way he phrases the lyrics “It doesn’t matter anymore” with a cry in his voice leaves you knowingly thinking it almost certainly does. Wells sings, “We’ve been here so many times before, nobody bothered to keep the score.”
“Seabird” is a homage to childhood, lost but remembered. It’s incredibly evocative. “The song was written about the innocence of childhood and memories of going to my uncle Jim’s beach shack at Seabird on the WA Coast,” says Wells. “I used to go there for holidays when I was a kid. It was very isolated, a typical self-built fibro beach shack. The kind of place that working-class families could afford years ago.”
The album concludes with the song ‘Why Aren’t You Dead’ which may make you laugh out loud. Similar to when Morrissey sang ‘Handsome Devil’ and told us where he wanted to get his hands, Wells sings “You say you can’t live without me, I’m stuck inside your head, well if you can’t live without me, then why aren’t you dead” only a step away from a murder ballad perhaps.
This is overall a solid collection of indie folk that although it won’t change your life may bring a smile to your face, improve your mood and give you some Aussie sunshine whenever you need it.
