tdh Opinions Reviews E.S.M

Earth and Sun and Moon

Reviewed by Q Magazine

"Although scandalously overlooked in this country, Aussie rent-a-cause rockers Midnight Oil continue to mine a rich seam of intelligent hard rock with unusual guile and attention to detail. After the pulverising momentum of last year's estimable Scream In Blue - Live, they have now lightened up in all departments, bar Rob Hirst's lyrics which still provide an unsuitable outlet for singer Peter Garrett's frustrated political ambitions. Recorded "virtually live", the album has a beguiling neo-'60s feel, bolstered by a frisson of swirly psychedelia which seeps through the cracks in the mixes of "Renaissance Man" and "Never Never Land," together with plentiful use of Hammond organ on "Feeding Frenzy" and "Outbreak Of Love" - it's a kind of Charlatans down under. Ultimately it's the Oils' winning way with a chorus which prevails. From the dire, eco-warnings of the title track to the harmonica-driven riff of the republican battle-cry, Truganini, there is always a telling melodic point being made along with the rhetoric."

Reviewer: David Sinclair (#81 - 6/93)