tdh Opinions Reviews Redneck Wonderland

Redneck Wonderland

Reviewed by The Age

Midnight Oil has spent much of it's long career oscillating between the patented raucous pub rock beloved of its rusted-on fans and sharper, experimental material. On three albums - Blue Sky Mining, Diesel and Dust, and 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 - they got the mix just right. Redneck Wonderland is an often successful attempt to reinvigorate the formula. There is an emphasis on beats and shifting rhythms, courtesy in part of Regurgitator's soundman Magoo, who co-produced nine of the albums twelve tracks. Midnight Oil's bet work has always been the stuff from outside the loop, the songs with the strange chord progressions, the time changes. The claustrophobic 'Safety Chain Blues' and the soaring accoustically charged 'Great Gibber Plain' are two shining examples of the genre, suggesting that the funkier edgier Midnight Oil of 1998 still has something to offer. Anyone who hasn't savoured their work is missing out on something truly special

Reviewer: Shaun Carey