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Breathe |
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Breathe
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Breathe |
Midnight Oil, one of Australia's finest exports, returns to the scene with Breathe four years after releasing Earth and Sun and Moon.
The boys have been busy in the last few years. Shiny-domed lead singer Peter Garret ran for the Australian presidency on a nuclear disarmament platform, and bass-player Rob Hirst fronted another band.
It's been a long wait for loyal fans like myself, and Breathe presents unfortunately little reward for our patience. The Oils operate in a soft mid-tempo mode most of the record, a virtually toothless version of the band that broke big in America nearly ten years ago. Songs like the predictable, sappy "Time to Heal" represent a band maturing past the angry youth syndrome, but they're doing it without picking up any wisdom along the way.
In short, Breathe features none of the passion that dominated Diesel and Dust, or the unity that held Blue Sky Mining together so well. It certainly doesn't radiate the strong song writing of Earth and Sun and Moon.
There are a few bright moments, though. The leadoff track "Underwater" features a wicked fuzzed-out bass line, and some nifty vocals by Garret. The band manages to amp up a bit with driving "Sins of Omission" and return to EaSaM form with "Surf's up Tonight."
The Oils take a new direction that works quite well on a number of tracks, but it's too late in the record. The final three songs, "E-Beat," Barest Degree," and the instrumental "Gravelrash" operate in a hypnotic, almost psychedelic state with lush backing vocals and organ and keyboards floating about in the mix. Hopefully, future projects will follow this direction, rather than the sappy adult-alternative tone overshadowing this release.
Reviewer: Josh Casten