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Clare Bowditch & The Feeding SetWhat Was Left Capitol/EMI One way or the other, the best Australian album of the year will feature musical genius J. Walker. I'm not going to make any grander statements until the release of the new Machine Translations record later in the year, but with a few bands pulling out of the race by promising not to release until after New Year's, this heroic leader of Australian music will make his mark; in the unlikely event that his own record will disappoint, the mantle will surely be handed down to one of his many proteges. Ms. Clare Bowditch, of whose band The Feeding Set he is an important member, is certainly one of the contenders. However, I was prepared for disappointment leading into the release of the Feeding Set's second album, 'What Was Left'. Since the independent release of their debut 'Autumn Bone', recorded by Bowditch's partner/drummer in their house with no hype and no expectation, they had released two rather pedestrian singles, Divorcee By 23 and Which Way To Go, suggesting that a more straight and narrow approach was replacing the complexities and idiosyncrasies sprinkled through her previous work. Yet from the moment I heard the opening strains of Starry Picking Night I realised my dire predictions fell miles short of the mark. Bowditch is back to her best. The blissful pop of Lips Like Oranges does not dent her remarkable oeuvre, made even more salient by the ballad-like I Thought You Were God, or, in particular, the jaw-dropping closing track Yes I Miss You. Sure, there are occasional lapses into mediocrity on this record. But that shouldn't stop anyone from taking Bowditch's work very, very seriously as one of the most appealing songwriters in this country today.  |
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