(Sony Music)

george frontwoman and Brisbane songbird with latest muso collective

The transformation of george from underground bohemian virtuosos to AOR stars is an odd one, because it came with no apparent compromise in their sound. Perhaps it’s because they are an almost image-less band, letting their music paint the pictures. This is certainly what one of the group’s lead singers Katie Noonan does on her new album with outfit The Captains. And, as ever, the music has not been particularly commercialised or toned down. If anything, this is Katie at her most abrasive. Certainly, her magnificent vocals are as soaring and expressive as ever, but she scores her songs with a loud, rocking band in the murky Massive Attack-on-steroids of Half In Water and buzzsaw guitars of Page One. Don’t worry though, this doesn’t mark the departure of ethereal Katie. The title track is gentle, crystalline balladry, while Sweet One is expressionistic, soulful jazz-folk, not a million miles removed from the oft-compared Kate Bush. Essentially, this is the Katie Noonan we’re familiar with, but enhanced with a few more volume-heavy arrangements – the Middle Eastern rock tinges of Time, for instance, while the widescreen epics like After The Rain come with all the lushness we’ve come to expect from this performer. It’s Katie moving at her own musical pace, regardless of fashionable trends in pop.

***½

MATT THROWER

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