Caitlin Harnett: All in the Golden Afternoon EP (CHCD)

 |   |  <1 min read

Caitlin Harnett: Favourite Dress
Caitlin Harnett: All in the Golden Afternoon EP (CHCD)

Working in that vein of "sensitive singer-songwriter", Sydney-based Harnett keeps things clear and simple here in a series of six songs which -- like Flip Grater's When I'm Awake I'm At War -- deliver everything in the first person to/about the unspecified "you".

Make what you will of that, I find it broadcasts on a narrow emotional frequency.

That said (as with Grater's album), there are some delightful songs here and -- although Harnett's style is that of a coy, innocent sweetness -- the folksy style (Into the Wild) and light pop (Your Ghost) suits this material well.

Harnett is a distinguished writer on the evidence here and each song works like a self-contained miniature, elevated by the arrangments for banjo, organ, melodica and so forth . . . which keep it from veering too far into the twee.

But my reservations of the I/you remain -- although there's no denying these songs do seduce you in. 

Pity they didn't edit out the first few minutes of the clip below, it is tedious until they finally get going. 

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Bonjour Swing: The Flame (fragilecolours.com)

Bonjour Swing: The Flame (fragilecolours.com)

Those with a long memory may recall multi-instrumentalist Robbie Laven who impressed discerning ears back in the Seventies with the short-lived band Red Hot Peppers. Their Toujours Yours album (see... > Read more

Mark Lanegan: Imitations (Heavenly/PIAS)

Mark Lanegan: Imitations (Heavenly/PIAS)

Pity anyone collecting the complete works of Mark Lanegan who not only runs a solo career but has been a gravitas-filled voice in Screaming Trees, QOTSA, the Gutter Twins, Soulsavers, Twilight... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

From Scratch: Global Hockets (Scratch)

From Scratch: Global Hockets (Scratch)

From their origins on PVC pipes and Jandals, through the incorporation of voices and here with the German electronic group Supreme Particles, From Scratch's explorations of rigorous and... > Read more

Pacific Curls: Pacifi Celta (Pacific Curls)

Pacific Curls: Pacifi Celta (Pacific Curls)

The trio at the core of Pacific Curls made two "interesting" albums, but "interesting" is a word which suspends judgment. They didn't win me much, but most of this one certainly... > Read more