Eight years and ten sacked band members and Luke Steele appears to be close achieving the kind of sound for The Sleepy Jackson that he's been seeking all this time. Not that he was far away before, anyway: 2003's album Lovers was knee deep in choruses sent from heaven and songwriting on a par with The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Of course all these sackings might just indicate that he's Australia's answer to Mark E Smith.
God Lead Your Soul is the work of a man on fire. Gorgeous vocal harmonies wash over the country rock that forms the basis of the verses, until the chorus builds towards a big band burst that seems similar in tone to the coldness in the orchestration of Lou Reed's Berlin (Sad Song in particular). The song switches tone and density at will, and although there is an underlying sense of chilly distraction, the overall feeling is that this is the perfect soundtrack to glorious hazy sunny afternoons.
They will be playing The Sleepy Jackson on the radio a lot this summer, and that's the way we like it.
