Geoffrey O’Connor’s I Love What We Do: melt into its languid mood. Credit: Dinosaur City Records
Geoffrey O’Connor, I Love What We Do
If Geoffrey O’Connor isn’t a national treasure to you, then I can’t be with you. The former frontman of beloved indie pop band the Crayon Fields could turn any philistine into a believer in the sanctity of the classic pop song – three-minute symphonies that build their own mini-worlds through piercing storytelling and melancholy moods. He’s done it again on his swooning new solo album, I Love What We Do.
O’Connor’s penchant for ’80s synth-pop gets a technicolour rendering; he’s like a cut-price Bacharach or Pino Donaggio in the way he gets these songs billowing with strings, woodwinds and choral harmonies. The effect is all atmosphere, such as with the lilting Balearic exotica of With You I Have Time, or the evocative songwriting on the title track, where he sings lines such as: “I’ve been a midday movie, a passing of time, a cosmopolitan, a vodka and lime”.
It’s all underlined by a sticky rainscape, the sound effects of a tropical thunderstorm passing through each song. Sip an espresso, watch the wet reflect across the grey city, and melt into its languid mood. Robert Moran
Gordi, Peripheral Lover
Gordi has one of the most glorious, and underrated, voices in Australian music. With two dreamy folk-pop albums under her belt, the artist born Sophie Payten returns with a new pair of synth-heavy singles. Peripheral Lover and Alien Cowboy both offer a slice of queer life, while experimenting with sound and texture.
The first takes a leaf out of Chappell Roan’s book, like a localised version of Good Luck Babe! – a plea to a new partner to openly celebrate queer love. Against a pulsing, shimmering backdrop, Gordi makes her wishes plainly clear: “I want it all right now!” It’s smart pop songwriting, with hooks and emotions in spades.
In stark contrast, Alien Cowboy takes more of an unusual route by distorting the singer’s voice with effects to create a strange and compelling soundscape. Its narrative is equally intriguing, centring a speculative queer utopia that is also a state of mind.
Both singles are a taste of Gordi’s upcoming third album, Like Plasticine (out May 30). I’ll be waiting to hear it in full – these are two very different songs, tied together by that voice and a knack for the eccentric, so it will be fascinating to hear what she’s come up with. Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
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