In soccer terms, Brisbane's HALFWAY would be on a hat-trick right now. They've already hit the back of the emotional net with their two previous albums 'Farewell to the Fainthearted' (2003) and 2006's 'Remember The River', but with their Plus One Records début 'An Outpost of Promise' they have the opportunity for promotion to a much bigger league.
They take that chance in style, as it turns out. The result of some intense rehearsals with producer and legendary Go-Between Robert Forster, 'An Outpost of Promise' is the sound of a drilled and confident band working together to take co-frontmen John Busby and Chris Dale's gritty, hard-won songs of truth and heartbreak to another level altogether.
Halfway have always impressed me with their swaggering, roots-tinged Rock'n'Roll sound, but never before have they sounded as focussed as they do here. Forster has clearly brought out the best in them as a unit and they shine straight off thanks to the wonderful opening track, 'Oscar'. Jangly and immediate, its' Power Pop swing is allied to a suitably memorable chorus (“books, booze and Oscar de la Hoya's sweet hands”) and coloured by banjo, pedal steel and a glorious Hammond organ solo from Liam Bray.
A slew of succeeding tracks are equally exhilarating. The guitars mesh beautifully on the punchy likes of 'It's OK' and 'The Old Guard' while the strident and effortlessly melodic 'Tell Them I Called' not only finds the Brisbane boys at their catchiest, but confident enough to let a horn section pep up the chorus. 'Stevie', meanwhile, is a heartfelt tribute to Busby's one-time band mate Steve Sutherland and the plans they made while they were in their teens. The song catches both the expectancy and urgency of youth right on the nail and the musical backdrop is a glorious, full-on rush.
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Yet it's to their credit that Halfway can still convince even when they slow it down a little. Songs like '110' and the yearning 'Monster City' are coloured by banjo, harmonica and pedal steel and their tales of after-hours promises made and secrets shared have an irresistible universal appeal. 'Tortilla Code', meanwhile, is a dustily affecting, John Steinbeck-inspired affair and by some way the most Country-sounding thing here. 'Sweetheart, Please Don't Start', meanwhile, is the record's big, heartstring-tugging ballad. The sound of love straining across the miles, it begins slow, fractured and pleading, but has almost buckled under the weight of the epic guitars by the time it finally releases its' grip.
By the time they sign off with the gorgeous, broken'n'blue alcoholic reverie of 'Bluebird Tattoo' they've long since earned the prize. 'An Outpost of Promise' is not only a sublime Roots-tinged Rock'n'Roll album, but Halfway's finest record by a country mile and one deserving to be bracketed with hallowed names like The Triffids and The Go-Betweens. And I don't say stuff like that too often, believe me.
Halfway on Myspace
Plus One Records Myspace page
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