Michael Plater – Exit Keys (Independent)
Melbourne
based singer-songwriter Michael Plater has regularly been releasing music since
his 2004 debut EP “These Mad Windows”. Whether solo or with a band, his sound
has usually combined a version of Gothic, Southern alt. country with something
quite quirky and antipodean. I suppose Nick Cave is the easiest comparison to
make, but the Americana influence is more pronounced and Plater sings with a
voice all his own.
“Exit
Keys” is a ten-track, full band affair, and might be the best thing he’s ever
done. Lead single “Ring Of Smoke” begins with a “Loaded” period Lou Reed /
Velvets riff, and continues to chug along in a most satisfying fashion until a
spiky guitar solo brings it to a halt. Song titles like “A Curse On This Town”,
“One Last Drop Of Poison” and “The Vulgar Tongue” indicate a continued
fascination with the darker things in life, and he’s adept at turning these
shadowy themes into songs that are hardly pop, but are always strangely
accessible and ultimately, very pleasing. Well worth checking out if names like
Reed, Cohen, Cave and Waits already feature in your record collection.
Rob
F.
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