Q Magazine
Review of The Hill For Company
By David Sheppard
It’s not all Jimmy Barnes bluster down under you know.
Like labelmates Low, Sodastream’s Karl Smith and Pete Cohen like to keep their intimate, aching songs low in volume and high in emotion. The duo also act as Antipodean exemplars of Bonnie Prince Billy-esque alt-country, so it’s no surprise to find that, like it’s predecessor, The Hill For Company relies on wonky guitar, whispered vocals, creaky double bass and not much else. Oddly, it works. Heaven On The Ground is a gorgeous Nick Drake ballad as heard though a concrete dividing wall, Trouble On The Railway a somnolent, cello-kissed Belle & Sebastian and A Drum wonderstruck folk-pop. Smith’s thin, reedy voice may not be to everyone’s taste, but his odd, conversational lyrics (unrequited love, ageing, loneliness) frequently intrigue and surprise. A quietly strange second volume.
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