(Nan & Pop/Shock)

Give this man a TV show

Maybe you’ve heard Justin Heazlewood’s pitch-perfect skewering of hipsters, Northcote (So Hungover), on the radio? I work for the street press, trust me, it’s accurate as well as funny. Each of his songs similarly evokes a character – lovesick bogan, disappointed backpacker, middle-aged mother – with authentic details and clever wordplay. Heazlewood’s a master of accents, adept at the Australian accent’s differentiation not by region but by class, with sharp distinctions between homeboy and hipster. Foreigners won’t get references like calling the tram “Howl’s Moving Centrelink,” but screw ’em, this is for us. He even does a Sudanese accent without being horrendously offensive and for an Australian comedian that’s an achievement. The wonderful acoustic strumming is never just a backdrop and I’d happily listen to these songs even if they weren’t funny. Which is good, because Heazlewood lives up to the philosopher tag in a finale about the meaning of life that’s poignant but lacking in chuckles. Songs From The 86 Tram is more about wry smiles than gut-busting laughs, but I’m wry-smiling my head off.

JODY MACGREGOR

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