THE LUCKSMITHS – A Little Distraction Posted by AlMachine on Monday, October 27, 2003 Australian trio The Lucksmiths have always conjured up their own model of consistency when it’s mattered most, and on this six track mini-album they don’t disappoint. Often compared to bands such as The Go-Betweens and Belle & Sebastian, singer Marty Donald’s spritely lilt is eerily reminiscent of both Gene’s Martin Rossiter and Lloyd Cole, both in his vocal pronunciations and almost casual use of his larynx as an additional instrument, particularly on the title track, which ebbs and flows in a similar vein to Cinerama’s ‘Kerry Kerry’, and again offers a slight comparison with another great English songwriter of the past 20 years, David Gedge. ‘Successlessness’ is possibly ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ for the outback desperados, a joyful antithesis to Jet’s boorish (and boring) posturing and a welcome alternative to the aesthetically pleasing but aurally unpleasant murmurings of Delta and Holly. ‘After The After Party’ follows on in a similar vein, Donald using his 12 string to a similar effect to that used by Amelia Fletcher on ‘Wrap My Arms Around Him’ back in the days when hairslides and anoraks were all the rage, while ‘Honey Honey Honey’ is part Spector-esque and yet possesses a similar cutting edge to prime time Billy Bragg (think ‘Greetings To The New Brunette’) when his lyrical content was more than just anti-Thatcher rhetoric. Whether The Lucksmiths will ever achieve mainstream success is difficult to predict, particularly as their brand of saccharine, melody-driven pop, whilst never being embarrassingly unfashionable, also doesn’t vie for attention with the fashionistas and footballers’ hussies on the front of glossy High Street style mags, and yet with a rush and a push from your beloved radio controller, could quite easily replace such staid dullards as Travis and The Thrills as your newest and most charming friends. Dom Gourlay