Drought Broken

A Head Full Of Rain & A Heart Full Of Puddles
Clinkerfield
Waste Management, 2008
3.5 stars

Starting an album off with the sound of rain on a tin roof is a great trick - who doesn't love it. Thankfully though, with their first proper full-length Melbourne's Clinkerfield are able to follow it up with a set of great modern hillbilly rock tracks. This is the sound of a heartbroken cityslicker singing to himself as he cries into his whiskey - ramshackle instrumentation swirls and heaves around Jimmy Stewart's growling vocals, moving between softer waltzy numbers and all-out pirate rockers with ease. This album sounds like the part of central Victoria where it was recorded - rough and rugged, but still just a car drive away from the big smoke and it's influences, good and bad.

Artwork: B+

Published in mX, Thursday March 13 2008