JAMES WALSH is moved by a provocative and original take on the relationship between ecology and architecture, and a plea to work with, not against, the materials and minerals of our world
Assured and cohesive tunes
IAN SINCLAIR reviews the latest releases from Robert Forster, Gemma Ray, and Jenny Lewis
An immersive, participatory display by a queer Australian Aboriginal performer, and a rebellious unravelling of traditional Scottish dance
EWAN CAMERON witnesses a political farce that lacks a clear message
EWAN CAMERON picks out two fascinating music shows, fusing the Korean, and the Celtic, with the modern
BENJAMIN POTHIER suggests that Palaeolithic cave paintings in Spain point to the ceremonial use of hallucinogenic flora
The bard confirms that the right has a humour bypass, and replays the English Revolution on period instruments
Inferno
by Robert Forster
(Tapete Records)
★★★★
The elder statesman of Australian indie music is back with his seventh solo record, and at 61 years old Robert Forster is still one of the coolest musicians working today.
As one half of the songwriting duo behind the legendary band The Go-Betweens, he always played the cryptic, hipster foil to Grant McLennan’s more accessible and romantic persona.
Inferno brilliantly showcases Forster’s concise, Dylanesque lyrical abilities, from the suburban boredom of No Fame (“My mother hangs the washing and my father has jobs to ignore/The weekend that has come is the same as the weekend before”) to the poppy stomp of the title track, a tribute to his hometown of Brisbane.
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