Logo
DiS Needs You: Save our site »
  • Logo_home2
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • In Photos
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Search
  • Community
  • Records
  • In Depth
  • Blog
  • Community

THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Please join the conversation over on our new forums »

If you really want to read this, try using The Internet Archive.

The Lucksmiths

Naturaliste

Label: Fortuna Pop! Release Date: 23/06/2003

domgourlay by Dom Gourlay June 23rd, 2003

The word "change" is supposed to synonymous with the word "improvement", so in that case how come the term "Indie Pop" has moved from being a description of sensitive, gentile yet left of centre songwriting to implying everything that's wrong with modern culture, namely lads in designer clothes throwing beer and punches while mouthing the words to 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me' or 'Wonderwall' as if they were on the terraces on a Saturday afternoon?

Thankfully, Australian three piece The Lucksmiths have more in common with the pre-Gallagher notion of independent music, their honey drenched harmonies owing more to Forster and MacLennan than McCartney and Lennon.

The sprightly opener 'Camera-Shy' owes more than a passing nod to Sarah Records stalwarts The Sea Urchins, while singer Marty Donald's effortless lilt is eerily reminiscent of Gene frontman Martin Rossiter, albeit minus the annoying Morrissey-isms that made Rossiter's bunch impossible to listen to most of the time without cringing in a dark corner.

From the breezy 'What You'll Miss' to the melancholic 'The Perfect Crime', which contains quite possibly the most unhappy ending ever consigned to a piece of music ("You left your sentence open / You left without a sound / The words we kept unspoken / Bury them in the ground"), 'Naturaliste' proves to be both poignant and intriguing in equal measures, while 'There Is A Boy That Never Goes Out' shows that Australians may have a sense of humour after all.

Quite simply, 'Naturaliste' is the melodic equivalent of a change in season, and only the most obscure form of tunnel vision (aka "OasisruleOK-itis")could fail to recognise the desolate beauty that raises its impregnable head with every continuous play of this album.

  • 7
    Dom Gourlay's Score
Log-in to rate this record out of 10
Share on
   
Love DiS? Become a Patron of the site here »


LATEST


  • Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Year: 2020


  • Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter


  • Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing


  • Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alternative must sees


  • A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash


  • Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019



Left-arrow

Cobra Killer, Fidel Villeneuve at On the Rocks, Hackney, Thu 19 Jun

Mobback
4320

The Vines at Camden Electric Ballroom, Camden, Thu 19 Feb

Mobforward
Right-arrow


LATEST

    news


    Drowned in Sound's 21 Favourite Albums of the Y...

  • 106141
  • news


    Drowned in Sound to return as a weekly newsletter

  • 106139

    Playlist


    Lykke Li's Sadness Is A Blessing

  • 106138
  • Festival Preview


    Glastonbury 2019 preview playlist + ten alterna...

  • 106137

    Interview


    A Different Kind Of Weird: dEUS on The Ideal Crash

  • 106136
  • Festival Review


    Way Out East: DiS Does Sharpe Festival 2019

  • 106135

    Festival Review


    25 years of SPOT Festival: DiS Picks Its Best 11

  • 106134
  • Festival Review


    Twelve Hours Of Drone Is Just The Beginning: Di...

  • 106133
MORE


GREATEST HITS

    DiSband


    DiSband #7: Viva Brother

  • 77972
  • news


    DiS Launches New Radio Show

  • 104154

    Column


    DiS Does Singles: Best of 2013 so far

  • 91154
  • feature


    DiS meets Justice

  • 27270

    review


    Daft Punk - Discovery

  • 282
  • feature


    Drowned in Sound's 50 albums of 2008

  • 44086

    review


    Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

  • 95999
  • review


    Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions

  • 55003
MORE

Drowned in Sound
  • DROWNED IN SOUND
  • HOME
  • SITE MAP
  • NEWS
  • IN DEPTH
  • IN PHOTOS
  • RECORDS
  • RECOMMENDED RECORDS
  • ALBUMS OF THE YEAR
  • FESTIVAL COVERAGE
  • COMMUNITY
  • MUSIC FORUM
  • SOCIAL BOARD
  • REPORT ERRORS
  • CONTACT US
  • JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
  • FOLLOW DiS
  • GOOGLE+
  • FACEBOOK
  • TWITTER
  • SHUFFLER
  • TUMBLR
  • YOUTUBE
  • RSS FEED
  • RSS EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
  • MISC
  • TERM OF USE
  • PRIVACY
  • ADVERTISING
  • OUR WIKIPEDIA
© 2000-2021 DROWNED IN SOUND