When you’re as revered in Australia and around the world as someone like Paul Kelly, you’d surely begin to wonder if you really need to make that 24th album. However Kelly’s never seemed like the kind of artist to tour the same old songs and cash in on his classic FM radio royalties. In fact, he seems less interested in appealing to nostalgic fans and much more concerned with bringing his music to new audiences.
Nature is a really strong record thematically, focusing on human nature’s small place in the natural world, and it shows Paul doing what he does best – penning universal folk-pop while not forgetting to take a few risks. It’s a record that somehow mixes the wide-eyed nature of 1987’s Under the Sun or even 1995’s severely underrated Deeper Water with a refined artistry that can only be obtained from 30+ years of making records.
The One I Love, the album’s first single, shows Kelly significantly increasing his usual tempo with a track that wouldn’t sound out of place in an early Triffids or Go-Betweens album. The track is ultimate proof of why Kelly is still revered as one of the country’s strongest songwriters. That being said, it’s the weirder moments that really stand out for me. Mushrooms is a bizarre take on the writing of Sylvia Plath, displaced by an almost unsettling array of acoustic guitar effects and unusually space-echoed Wurlitzer, while With Animals continues Kelly’s theme of taking other writers words (in this case Walt Whitman) and repurposing it into something rougher with hints of Velvet Underground.
Whether you’re a long time Kelly fan, or have no idea why someone might say 'Happy Gravy Day' to you next December 21st, you’ll be sure to find something you like in Nature.
Lee
Format
CDs
Subject
Reactions