Album Review: Ben Salter - Back Yourself

Ben Salter's third solo album begins inauspiciously, with an innocuous cover of Richard Garnett's 19th century poem Where Corals Lie.

Things get rather more interesting from there, as Salter spools through an eclectic but oddly cogent raft of styles: from low-fi pop (the excellent Isolationism) to garage (Nazi Paraphernalia) to melodic rock (Back Yourself) to minimalist soul (I Need You). With a supporting cast that includes Salter's Gin Club bandmate Conor Macdonald, Regurgitator's Seja Vogel, and Julien Wilson's BeeforChicken jazz quartet, Back Yourself is another impressive entry in the oeuvre of one of Australia's hardest working and most versatile troubadours.