Soul Coaxing by Australia's Finest
Daniel Dennis | Brisbane, Queensland Australia | 01/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A superb moment in lush acoustic pop has arrived, just as we who search for taste and musicality were dying a little in the hybridized post-modernism of the nineties. Take time with your favourite friend to share an hour over this album. It features sublime musicianship with the delicate vocalizing of one of the more modest geniuses in my country's musical community, David Bridie. Think of sweetened Tom Waites mixed with equal shares of Tim Hardin and Nick Drake and you have the man's incomporable chords. The lyrics stand as poetry. The ensemble of musicians weave a tapestry that is always smooth and understated, but the joyous swirl of "Your Ship Has Gone" is like walking through a spring sun shower. This is a sumptuous recording that belongs in the collection of every discriminating music collector. It is a worthy successor to the eponymous first album (my personal favourite, brimming with cuts of unsurpassed beauty), and the much-admired second offering,"Brood". Listen and savour - this group's work towers over most comparable releases like a cathedral among booths."
Aussie folk ensemble's best album
Agen GN Schmitz | Seattle, WA United States | 07/08/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"David Birdie and his mates from My Friend the Chocolate Cake have created a nimble, swirling mix of folk instrumentals, classical interludes, and sheer pop perfection. If MFTCC ever made it to a label in the States, they'd have a sure-fire hit with "Lighthouse Keeper", an uptempo piano-driven number that is as unabashadly romantic as it is energetic. The mood and tempo swings from song to song can be a bit unnerving (you want them to keep up the energy level), but they ultimately reflect Birdie's ever changing moods and show him to be a top-flight songwriter."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1