Dateline: It's All Downhill From Here (digital outlets)

Dateline's 2022 debut album had the self-deprecating title Dumb For My Age (“when will I learn?”) and songs included Don't Know What To Do With Me and Country Rock Emo (“the good days are few and far between”).

This new album arrives with a similarly wry title (the opener is the New Wave pop of Please Knock Me Out) and delivers classic indie rock on the instantly likeable, previously released singles Be Good and Choose Me (the latter long-listed for the APRA Silver Scroll award).

Katie Everingham is a talent magnet whose Dateline band has – over two albums and a few singles -- pulled in members of Hans Pucket, Lips, the Beths, Dick Move and French for Rabbits as well as Priya Sami (of Sami Sisters) and multi-instrumentalist Sean Martin-Buss.

Doubtless they're drawn by her smart pop of discrete and distinctive songs which come with the rough edges of indie rock, touches of folk-rock and often canny observations.

Everingham taps the spirit and sound of mid-1960s guitar pop (Leaves), Nineties indie rock (Broken Knees knowingly nods to Nirvana) and thoughtful acoustic folk (Wake Up Slowly). With Dateline she brings the melodic into the same space as the assertive.

This accomplished album – which sounds like a collection of singles – includes short, interpolated snatches of studio banter with a lot of laughter.

Katie Everingham sounds like good company to keep.

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You can hear and buy this album at bandcamp here

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