Album Review: Hilltop Hoods - The Great Expanse

Clean, crisp, refined. Adjectives that might describe a salad, a beer or the Hilltop Hoods' sound. Some forget that the Hoods, Adelaide's finest, didn't make it to the top of the heap just because of their impressive commercial breakthrough, 2003's The Calling. They made it for the fact that from day one, they’ve sounded like they belonged there.

It is only right, then, that Suffa, Pressure and DJ Debris assume roles as elder statesmen. They do so adroitly while examining the insecurities that come with progression on Into The Abyss. Pressure combines his way with melody (a recently developed attribute) with his talent for intensity on Counterweight. Leave Me Lonely shows the gift for immediacy that’s defined this crew for two decades. H Is For.. is a surprisingly vulnerable, nostalgic piece. Exit Sign sees Illy, a rapper whose success has confounded this writer at least, provide a big guest verse – one of the record's strongest moments and therefore one of its biggest surprises.

Here we get the thrill of the new, a nostalgia hit and a new turn from an established voice. There's lots to love here. But a question hangs in the air: having dominated for so long - and with this clean, crisp, refined showing - what is there left for Hilltop to do? Keep marching toward the great expanse, perhaps, sharing their story as they go.