Depressing Beauty
Citadel
Darryl Mather made a splash as the guitarist and songwriter for Lime Spiders and Someloves, two bands who continue to held in high regard for their part in Australia’s guitar pop history. Mather again confirmed that he knew his way around a melody with The Orange Humble Band – a band that he developed with a host of international friends. After two albums in the ‘90s, The Orange Humble Band pulled up stumps.
Mather took a break from music at the turn of the century, but was quietly penning tunes in the background until now, with Depressing Beauty quietly sneaking out from a band that hasn’t been a going concern for fifteen years.
Mather is still most adept in the power pop realm, but along with the cracking riff-driven You Close Your Eyes and the bubblegum chorus of Sowannadoit, there is a host of subtle toned-down laments such as Ain’t Tougher Than Me and the country-toned The Girl Without A Name. Stringfellow delivers in spades with a voice so perfectly suited to pop tunes that it is criminal he is not a superstar in his own right.
With a record that documents fallen friends and celebrates those who came out the other side, Depressing Beauty is surprisingly well worth the wait.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
