Issue 503

The Yearlings Sweet Runaway Mixmasters Records/Vitamin Local roots/alt country duo The Yearlings possess that rarest of qualities - the ability to send shivers up your spine with a single note. That, combined with the vocal harmonies that are liable to make you weep with joy, have thrust the twosome to the height of our local scene, and with the sublime 'Sweet Runaway', that seems unlikely to change. To a certain extent, studio album number four is more of the same, which is certainly not a bad thing when you're as talented as Robyn Chalken and Chris Parkinson. However, this is the first album to be recorded at their homemade studio 'My Sweet Mule' (which can be found in the laid back surrounds of Maslin Beach) which results in an even more tranquil sound than usual. When the album does pick up its groove, like in the slinky Drive All Night, it highlights just how much The Yearlings have been thinking about their tonal palette; shimmering tremolo guitars and touches of Hammond organ delicately surround the rhythms, adding depth and shade. They've also started to explore bluegrass more fully here, and the resulting track Your Sweet Town ends up being one of the highlights, based on a circular banjo figure and a catchy rhythm. As with any Yearlings record though, the meat here is in the silky-smooth balladry, and its here in force, from the delicate Butterfly to the blues-tinged, redemptive and unbelievably beautiful Still Got the Taste. As always, the intertwining vocals will make parts of your body shiver that you didn't know existed, and in the case of the dark, bluesy Wildflower Girl, will shake your very soul. Best of all though, 'Sweet Runaway' evokes the Australian landscape - and not the stereotypical one the tourism industry constantly tries to shove down our throats. Rather, this Australia is often harsh, often bleak, but always beautiful, perfectly rendered and an utter delight. Patrick Lang