Search - Mick Hart :: Release

Mick lets it out

ogidni | Sydney, Australia | 08/03/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Mick Hart is an Australian singer/guitarist/songwriter who has built a reasonably solid live following in Australia and also parts of Europe, I hear. His release "Release" is his first solo recording. He has a strong emotive voice, both passionate and delicate which is complemented on this recording by some beautiful, seductive violin playing by Naomi Radom and Jen Anderson. The instrumentation/style is not particularly original, but the texture, honesty and spirit of the playing and vocals has a distinctive "Mickness". Personally, that's what I admire most about him and in fact artists of any genre - the ability and courage to reveal something of themself while still engaging with an audience; still being relevant and touchable. This is an intimate recording, even in its less quiet, subdued moments. For example, the comparatively bouncy, energetic "This is not the Way" alternates its yearning, reflective breaks with escalating sound which breaks through with the release of frustrated emotional tension. There isn't a dud song here, but my favourite is "Nothing is Real" (and there are 2 versions - electric or sans). It has a beautifully textured, swaying sound, always edging closer towards a peak, then pulling away before Mick lets loose, going a bit frantico ballistic at the end. I hesitate to say "sounds like a cross between dude A and dude B", but to give you an idea of how he sounds, if you enjoy the music of people like Grant Lee Buffalo, Jeff Buckley, Ben Harper, Buffalo Tom, The Verve, Matthew Sweet or Elliot Smith then you may well enjoy this, too."