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LIVING IN THE LAND OF OZ
If she's not already, Missy Higgins will one day be as revered
as Paul Kelly. Everything she does is quality; she hasn't
had one career misstep in the decade since her debut single,
Scar, topped the charts. So now she releases a covers album
… has she run out of ideas? Missy's manager, John Watson,
suggested the covers concept when she was battling writer's
block between her second and third albums. OZ has ended
up as Missy's fourth album, featuring covers of songs by
Paul Kelly, Perry Keyes, Something For Kate, Divinyls, Icehouse,
Neil Murray, The Drones, Dan Sultan, The Angels, Slim Dusty,
The Blackeyed Susans, Don Walker and The Go-Betweens. There
is also a book accompanying the album. Missy baulked at
an autobiography, explaining, "I'm not sure anyone would
be that interested … I've had a pretty safe life. No ghettos
in my childhood, just private schools, wholesome parents
and jazz lessons." Instead, Missy wrote a collection of
essays, giving an insight into the album. She writes endearingly
and honestly about inspiration, identity, feminism, fandom,
depression and love. Musically, OZ works because this is
not "Missy sings the hits". She jokes that the subtitle
for the album could have been: Songs I Liked And Reckoned
I Could Sing Well, And Stuff. This is Missy as a fan. She
confesses she wrote a letter to Paul Dempsey when she was
17, and she urges people to check out Perry Keyes - "it's
rare to find a lyricist this good". Doing an album of local
songs makes sense for an artist who has always been defiantly
Australian. Missy recounts how the English producer of her
first album suggested toning down her Aussie accent, because
some listeners might find it "distracting". Missy took great
offence - "How dare anyone think that me singing in my own
accent is distracting? I'm not fucking American! Anyway,
the accent became stronger out of sheer spite." Not enough
local artists do enough to promote Australian music (how
often, for example, do you see an Aussie song as the RocKwiz
duet?). "Not only is there so much Australian music out
there that I'd never heard before," Missy says, "but there's
so much good Australian music out there." This is an album
and book that gives so much. Missy Higgins is a great artist.
RUSTY NEVER SLEEPS
As well as rocking the Espy on Friday nights in September,
Electric Mary's Rusty Brown has become a premiership coach,
leading the Macleod Eagles Under 13s to glory. Electric
Mary are also running a Pozible campaign to help them get
to Europe in November.
LOVERS LANE
Howzat! is loving Davey Lane's debut solo album, Atonally
Young, which will be out on 3 Oct. It's a cosmic classic!
Davey has also been writing about his favourite records
at his Facebook page, including offerings from Sun God Replica,
Todd Rundgren and Supergrass.
HOT LINE
"Winter is passing, I wonder what's to come?" - Luluc, Winter
Is Passing.
CHART WATCH
Nathaniel leaps from 22 to five.
Freaks TIMMY TRUMPET (number three)
Live Louder NATHANIEL (five)
Black Widow IGGY AZALEA (23)
Amnesia 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER (24)
Come Home With Me GUY SEBASTIAN (33)
Geronimo SHEPPARD (34)
Que Sera JUSTICE CREW (36)
Chandelier SIA (37)
Megan Washington's second album lands at number five.
30:30 Hindsight JIMMY BARNES (number four)
There There MEGAN WASHINGTON (five, debut)
Dream Your Life Away VANCE JOY (six)
Walking Under Stars HILLTOP HOODS (nine)
Angus & Julia Stone ANGUS & JULIA STONE (13)
Bittersweet KASEY CHAMBERS (14)
5 Seconds Of Summer 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER (17)
Microscopic Wars KINGSWOOD (18)
The Very Best INXS (23)
The New Classic IGGY AZALEA (26)
1000 Forms Of Fear SIA (29)
Utopia 360 (32)
Burnt Letters TAYLOR HENDERSON (33)
Let The Ocean Take Me THE AMITY AFFLICTION (35)
Built On Glass CHET FAKER (37)
Nothin' But Trouble THE WOLFE BROTHERS (39)
Bombs Away SHEPPARD (40)
HOWZAT! PLAYLIST
NYE MISSY HIGGINS
Komarov DAVEY LANE
This Living LAUREN GLEZER
Already Gone ELECTRIC MARY
Winter Is Passing LULUC
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