Favourite Songs:

What You'll Miss, What Passes For Silence, Stayaway Stars, The Perfect Crime



Australian indie gods are here with a brand new album. The band has been around for years and they are highly acclaimed among pop fans. I've heard lots of their songs earlier and I've liked em all, but this is the first album I've bought to myself. So one enormous gap in my record shelf is now filled and now I'll need to start going through their back catalogue as well.

'Naturaliste' is not a perfect pop album, but it ain't far from it. It has a few not so great tunes, but the majority of the album is filled with beautiful, easy-flowing and heartwarming pop music. It's actually quite amazing how effortlessly they're able to dance into your heart. At first listen it seems its quite the normal melodic pop music, but then suddenly the songs get under your skin. A good example is 'What You'll Miss'. I hadn't truly listened to it carefully enough, but then on one night I was watching the movie Magnolia on television. I've seen the movie many times so I had no sound on (no light either) and had The Lucksmiths playing on the background instead. I had not really focused on the music, but during the last half an hour of the movie I started to hear beautiful harmonies singing "let it all come down" and I started to cry. Two separate creations, the movie and the song just perfectly combined on that one moment. The fate of the people in the movie and the beautiful soft song by The Lucksmith just made that moment perfect.

"In the morning it felt like the world had stopped
And clenched like a giant fist up tight
But then you noticed the dust still dropped
And danced through the bedroom window light

It’s the woodsmoke smell of winter
It’s the sad things that you’ll miss
Like the woodsmoke smell of winter
And the sad things like this

Let it all come down like fog on a cold field
Let it all come down like frost on the lawn
Let it all come down like leaves in a teacup
Let it all come down like trees in a storm

There’ll be cars on the street soon enough
And someone will come and collect the bins
Everyone will return to their everyday stuff
And you’ll sleep through the mess that you’re in"

(The Lucksmiths: What You'll Miss)

I ended up listening to the song dozens of times during the night and I really fell in love with it. I tend to believe in moments and that was an example how one song can effect a person if you happen to hear it just at right time in the right mood. In overall, I would say that The Lucksmith's strongness is indeed how they are able to create moods. It's like you are there under the stayaway stars feeling the coldness on the Shipwreck Coast. Another longing perfect song is 'What Passes For Silence'. A sorrowful story about relationship after the first fight. While the overall mood is quite longing there are few sunny pop songs as well. Musicwise it's soft and warm. Songs are often quiet acoustic pieces with wonderful lyrics painting a longing but still hopeful and beautiful view of life. I can't say is this their best one, because I haven't heard the previous ones. But if they do have better ones, then those albums must be amazing. Because this certainly is a wonderful album and The Lucksmith's status as indie legends is fully deserved.

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The Lucksmiths Website

Written 25.05.2003