Sodastream - A Minor Revival

by Benjamin Howarth

published: 12 / 4 / 2004

Label: Fortuna POP!
Format: CD

Classic, confident songwriting from long-serving melancholic Australian indie pop duo Sodastream, back with their latest album

Review

Sodastream’s new album is the sound of a band that seems content with their place. If a band is confident in itself but still prepared to break its own moulds then good music is generally the outcome and that is no exception here. There are 13 songs on this album, and all demonstrate a band rich in ideas and consistently strong with their songwriting. Karl Smith and Pete Cohen make up Sodastream, sometimes assisted by guests at various points. On this album J. Walker (Machine Translations) plays some viola, slide guitar, and keyboards and Marty Brown (Art Of Fighting) plays drums. They hail from Australia, but are quite well known here having recorded for Tugboat, Rough Trade, Sanctuary, Drive In and Acualera records and having played support slots for Low and a bill at the Bowlie Weekender festival and having been played and featured in session on John Peel. So it will come as no surprise to many that their new album is a good ‘un. This album is a melancholic, late night or early morning (after waking!) listen, and takes a while to get to know. Gradually, the subtle, pretty melodies grow on you, and this is thoroughly pleasant listening. 'Undone', in particular, is a favourite of mine, and one that has already been making it onto my mixtapes. Perhaps the album as a whole needs a little more bite to be called a true classic, but there is no doubt that there is invention on display with the casual combination of indie-pop, folk and alt.country. This is the sort of album that would really surprise me if it were to be disliked by any keen indie fan.

Track Listing:-

1 Out
2 Blinky
3 Brass Lines
4 Chorus Line
5 Horses
6 Undone
7 Mrs. Gray
8 Nervous
9 Constant Ships
10 Otherwise Open
11 America
12 The Women's Revue
13 Weekend

Band Links:-

http://www.sodastream.net.au/
https://www.facebook.com/sodastream.ba
https://twitter.com/sodastream_band
https://sodastream.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/sodastrea