Review Summary: Powderfinger: because we respect you; because we love you
The everyday Australian will find it hard to listen to Internationalist without being reminded by the three biggest capital cities in the country: Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. There is a very honest, hard working feel to the album, with lovable rhythms and hooks and the excellent lyrics that make Powderfinger Australia’s best ever musical act behind AC/DC.
The opening track Hindley Street is named after a street in Adelaide, but has a very Melbourne feel, in particular with the shuffling drum beat and simple guitar work, which captures the mood of Melbourne’s bustle. Lemon Sunrise is very clearly a tourist’s perspective of Brisbane: dawn on the beach, with the sound effects of gentle surf and a very chilled guitar. Celebrity Head is about a deluded Sydney tabloid journo:
Don’t you know who I am? I work the street paper scam; I can’t believe you don’t read me.
Powderfinger varies their instrumental use and produces some seriously good work with it: Passenger, the best song on the album uses trumpet, the beautiful 'Trading Places' uses some winding wind instruments and the wry 'Celebrity Head' has some blast of brass.
The sounds and styles vary as well. From the punk rockets 'Don’t Wanna Be Left Out' (with an unforgettable helter skelter drum opening) and 'Good Day Ray' (dedicated to Australian TV presenter Ray Martin) to the melodic alternative of 'Passenger' and 'Belter', keyboard pop on 'Private Man' and shimmering ballad of 'Trading Places', Powderfinger show their prowess and musical intellect.
The ideals are typically mature and well-delivered: the call to unity of 'Passenger', the Romeo and Juliet reflection of 'Capoicity', the quiet desperation of 'Over My Head', the politically doomy 'The Day You Come', the 9-to-5-grind of 'Already Gone' and the city feel of 'Hindley Street', 'Don’t Wanna Be Left Out', 'Good Day Ray', 'Celebrity Head', 'Lemon Sunrise' and 'Already Gone'.
This is Powderfinger before they become Aussie rock royalty with Odyssey Number Five and Vulture Street. To own it is to see where they were about to go and understand why.
