(Independent)

Accomplished first effort from local Brisbane quintet

Did anyone else think it was lame when Bernard Fanning began a solo project that was, essentially, a more tedious Powderfinger album in everything but name? Jeez, at least Daniel Johns and Thom Yorke had the decency to tweak the formula a bit. This is why I was surprised to read that Christian Duell (of Brisbane band Mr Rascal) was also a member of The Westminsters, both bands emerging from the same set of indie-pop influences of Big Star, The Shins, Neil Young etc. But I’m a lot more forgiving of Duell than I am of Mr Fanning, largely because the output of both The Westminsters and Mr Rascal are pretty darn enjoyable. Some Reasonable Fiction is seven short pop-rock songs, the type I previously thought didn’t exist in angsty Brisbane town at the moment. While I mourn this fact (i.e. feel sorry for myself), you can listen to the acoustic-based melancholy of Sad Demonstration, or the brooding contempt in Hand In My Pie, counter-balanced by sweet harmonies and the surprising inclusion of a xylophone. That’s the wooden one, right? Right.

MITCH ALEXANDER

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