eMusic Review 0
Not one of the artists immortalized on this collection ever achieved any international recognition. Most, indeed, achieved very little local recognition — being in an alternative rock group in Australia in the late 70s and early 80s was about as willful an exercise in obscurantism as one could undertake. However, much here has a naive period charm — notably Essendon Airport's jazz-backed monologue "I Feel A Song Coming On" — and the many of the bands captured here represented, if they but knew it, the roots of an imminent and spectacular renaissance in Australian music. Microfilm's Lisa Gerrard would later join Dead Can Dance. International Exiles' Paul Hester would later resurface in Crowded House. The Jetsonnes — whose gloomy New Wave noir "Newspaper" is a highlight here — would spawn Hunters & Collectors, who went on to deliver several very good albums, one outright classic (1986's "Human Frailty") and become one of Australia's biggest live draws.
