22-06-2002 Vibewire

If you live in Sydney, and you frequent gigs a lot, you may have heard about the Club Acoustica gigs which happen every Thursday at La Bar.

This is a clever concept, throwing together the best the Sydney scene has to offer in terms of acoustic music. This compilation being released by the Club Acoustica folk contains such names as Stella One Eleven (‘She Lies’) and King Curly (‘I Wish I Was A Girl’) who deliver a new shine and perspectives to songs which usually are flavoured with electric guitars. Beside these well-known names are names which are sure to be heard either for the first time or in-passing in The Drum as unsigned artists.

These are really the hidden treasures of the scene and Club Acoustica surely shows the fabulous talent Sydney has and not an electric amp in sight.

The line-up in the compilation includes the majestic vocal stylings of Brett Hunt in the laid back ‘Crazy’, as well as the harmonic simplistic yet delightful Miss Radio with ‘Move You’, all in live mode.

Two personal highlights for myself on this record are standout live performances from two artists which sing and perform with heart, Dominique Fraissard's ‘The People Sea’ is a song which suits the acoustic guitar to a T and really does make a point of telling the listener how a melody is supposed to be sung. The second highlight for this reviewer was Jeff Duff's ‘Vampire Lover’. This standout track on the album just cries out in agony to you. The rollercoaster emotional ride which is Vampire Lover with its Spanish / Eastern European flavour of evil, blood and thirst is persuasive enough to start up flamenco lessons.

Most of these artists clutch onto their acoustic guitars like babies and it is shown with performances by Luke O'Shea & Medicine Wheel (‘Telephone Lines’) and Jay Atwill. The musical stylings are also very varied, ranging from sweet sickly pop of the before-mentioned Miss Radio, to the folk of women in docs (who tell a love story Surry Hills style in ‘Crown St’) to the worldly sounds of Shimmer with ‘Spirit Child’.

Overall, I found the album a great listen and it showcases the acoustic format as a format not only restricting itself to the clichés of dreary country music but also exploring and delving into music territories that the genre usually doesn't see itself in.

The sounds heard on the album (all live) are a good reason to get out of the ear-ringing environment of rocking electric guitars and to head on down to a Club Acoustica night in Sydney.