Mirrors
|
|
|
Being described as Australia’s Bob Dylan could be a hard tag to live up to, but singer-songwriter Kev Carmody has the vision and the versatility that’s always marked the American’s career. It was 1990’s blistering Pillars of Society that put Carmody – and his impassioned songs around Aboriginal rights – on the map. The success of Pillars, and subsequent albums such as Bloodlines, was also a wake-up call to many who knew nothing of Australia’s ‘stolen generation’ – Carmody himself was taken from his family aged 10.
Now Mirrors, released with an eye on elections in both Australia and the US, picks up the torch. It’s an attractively direct release: Carmody’s opener, ‘Dirty Dollar’, sets up a simple but effective dualism between globalization and the concept of a ‘pristine land’. ‘Are You Connected?’ – its electronic voices almost straying into Laurie Anderson territory – wonders about isolation in the age of mass communication. ‘Refugees’ could be addressed to dispossessed Aboriginal people as well as Australia’s new asylum-seekers.
While these, and other subjects, receive the benefit of Carmody’s eloquence, the real charge lies in their delivery. Mirrors – an album Carmody describes as techno/folk/punk/grunge – matches style and content in surprising ways. It’s adventurous and fun but many may feel that Mirrors works best in its contemplative moments: ‘Campfire Rain’ with its crackling logs and deluge, or the dignified, hymnal pace of ‘Georgina River’. It’s here that Mirrors really gives a sense of transcendence.
- Product information
- by Kev Carmody
- Publisher
- Song Cycles
- Star rating
- Product link
- www.kevcarmody.com.au
Join over 30,000 people just like you. Get e-mail updates about new content, action alerts, contests, and more!
Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
