Review Summary: Pyke gets rid of the pretentiousness, gains some clarity, but still lacks an "x factor".
Josh Pyke has been labelled as many things, from innocent and wistful to a pretentious fool in a polite Australian music scene. The latter statement was aimed at his debut effort
Memories & Dust from certain critics, while it was also met with a fantastic reception gaining comparisons to Elliot Smith’s
XO, and this comparison continues to shine through on his most recent outing
Chimney’s Afire, as Pyke has hit his straps and released his best work to date, though has let himself down by a lack of consistency.
Pyke is a rare find seeing his guitar work and vocal delivery is second to none. His lyrics create solid landscapes of poetic uniqueness and let you discover your own thoughts of what Pyke is trying to create. Pyke’s voice is laced with gruff but also delivers gentle soothing melodies that can send the listener into a lethargic wonderland, which is a feature on ‘Chimney’s Afire’, the brief opening track, lending itself to quite a symbolic explanation of the concept from which the album first stemmed. While the title holds a strong connection with the old sea borne times, the references hinting about the sea are largely related to Pyke’s personal reflections.
"The guilt they feel for killing that whale
Her chimney's afire
Her eyes
The ire
And with Bible leaf
She fuels her own fire
Her eyes
The ire, the ire”
Singles ‘The Lighthouse Song’ and ‘Make You Happy’ are both definite standout tracks that differ quite an amount from the sound that was presented on
Memories & Dust as it is much richer in sounding, whilst also presenting a more folk-ier approach to his song writing. The guitar interplay is slightly more complex, with slide guitar having a strong presence and the inclusion of alternate percussion make quite an intricate sound and quite an airy feel that will make listeners yearn for more.
Unfortunately Pyke lets himself down with consistency. As many songs on the album fail to deliver the graceful and amazing sound found in the aforementioned tracks, as many songs like the ending four tracks become quite monotonous, with the same formula used over and over again. All in all
Chimney’s Afire is brilliantly done and written, though is lacking that
x factor that could make Pyke quite a brilliant songwriter. While it may be lacking certain aspects and in some places quite slow,
Chimney’s Afire definitely sees off Pyke’s immaturity and pretentiousness and sends him on the right path to improve to create a fantastic future.
