Come Across
Although only the group’s second album to be distributed in the U.S., Come Across is the Australian band’s fifth release, and it sounds it. Bluebottle Kiss’ first record came out in 1995, which gave the quartet nearly a decade to tighten and refine their sound for this triumphant 2004 disc. Echoes of fellow Australians Paul Kelly, Midnight Oil and Nick Cave drift through these taut tunes whose lyrics are thoughtful and meaningful but never pretentious. All of this turmoil makes for an intense listen that is not for those who are looking for easy resolutions or spoon-fed love songs. This is challenging, rugged, dramatic rock with folk tendencies woven intricately into its coarse fabric. Best digested whole where the dramatic songs build on and off each other, the unrelenting Come Across is a mature, fiery work that deserves to be heard by the masses.