Skye Harbour
Self-titled
Independent


Adelaide-born rockers Skye Harbour, who now call Melbourne "home", poured their blood, sweat and tears into the making of this, their first EP. It was all home recorded and produced (complete with hand spray-painted cover art), and, considering the complexity of the arrangements that fuel the five slices of power-pop contained within, has come off with a startling air of professionalism. As far as first releases go for local artists, it's pretty ambitious: strings ebb and flow, harmonies saturate soaring melodies, electronic segues creep in. At times, it's a bit of a cacophony; at others, however, it has an unshakeable sense of originality in a music scene saturated with power chords and new-wave overtones.

Starting with the ferocious Numbers, Deaths And The Sky, Skye Harbour are at their best when they keep things energetic. Underwater, despite its lack of discernable chorus, has crossover hit written all over it: all crunchy hooks and piano-driven excitement, building to a frenetically effective electronic breakdown before being driven home by vocalist Josh Hardy's unerring emphasis on melody. The band combines catchy, mainstream pop with slightly off-centre song structures, the result then heavily layered in guitars and effects by guitarist-cum-producer Jack Arentz. Towards the middle of the disc things meander a little too much - ballads Unspent Catalogue and Burnt ring a little too much of immature melodrama - but closer Decay is anything but. A simple, stirring track, it recalls 'Clarity' era Jimmy Eat World or Death Cab For Cutie with precision - and while the strings lay it on a bit thick, it's a brilliant piece of songwriting, and speaks of a band gradually moving towards finding its sound and finding its audience.

Matt Vesely