(In-Fidelity/Inertia)

Rich debut album from Melbourne troubadour

Nathan Hollywood’s brand of roots music (country, but not quite country; blues, but not quite blues, and so on) has resulted in him sharing the stage with performers as diverse as Neko Case and Francoiz Breut. His melancholic, acoustic meditations on God and gravediggers are treats for anyone who likes their singers to be able to tell a story, while the subtly dramatic arrangements befit these quietly gothic stories of love and death. Hollywood’s downbeat but always intriguing style suits the connotation of faded glamour evident in his stage name – from the Spanish epic El Andariego to the Christianity-referencing I Am The Holy Ghost and Mark 15:34, Hollywood’s tales come from the dusted chronicles of characters that have suffered and, well, lived! Red Night Falling comprises just nine songs, but the leisurely, mood-piece vibe of the album allows tracks like Mockingbird to evolve into haunting, majestic songs. Hollywood reportedly experimented with ‘30 and ‘40s recording techniques, to give the songs an organic timelessness. Whatever tricks he pulled off, the result is one lush sounding record.

***½

MATT THROWER

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