Spindickle
Two Strings From Home
Perfect Gentleman Records

It's a privilege to review the debut album of the hugely talented Adelaide singer-songwriter Spindickle. In his disarming and charming live shows, he sings and plays guitar, deftly adding what drums are possible with his feet. But here, honest performances of 12 of his best darkly-comic songs are tastefully enhanced by more of his cool drumming and by the production and additional instrumentation of Nigel 'Blank Tapes' Koop.

The perfect-pop opener, Sunny And Fine, is only the appetiser for a sustained album of wonderful, original songs. The beguiling Hey Lady follows, with 'GG' Alan Bindig's guitar and keyboards lifting the song into the realms of the Flaming Lips. Each of Spindickle's stories is launched with an acoustic strum and a wry lyric, then builds to achieve a compelling rhythm, an irresistible melody and a mood of its own.

I Wish I Was An A Band is poignant and whimsical in the Jeffrey Lewis lo-fi, anti-folk vein as is Smarter Than Me, where Spindickle suggests, "Let's go to the movies or the Adelaide Show...Hit the road, like Thelma and Louise did, just not over the cliff". Neat turns of phrase, unpretentious production, some lovably de-tuned accompaniments and unsynchronised, double-tracking of vocals only endear the songs to us.

But Spindickle can resemble Nick Cave too, as in the black Daddy's Gun and Sad Captain. Touching on the melancholic, there is always a daring, sometimes murderous twist in his songs. It's impossible to know intellectually what he's on about, especially as he is clearly adopting other personas in his work. But somehow you get it through the lilting, haunting music and the drama of the arrangements. His voice as a poet is original and authentic and as a singer it's rich and magnetic. He might confide in a subdued, almost spoken style for a while but there's always the hint of the assured soaring power he unleashes in most numbers, especially the anthemic Outlaw, and It's Not My Fault.

He includes a well-chosen cover; Matt 'No Through Road' Banham's Stormy Weather, before the killer finale, Koop's elegant mix of After Yourself. This completes a brilliant bunch of diverse songs, full of wit and catchy tunes, beautifully ordered to make a superb album that delivers over and over.

Andrew Bunney