Just like the stigma surrounding mental health issues, there tends to be a bit of stigmatisation around charity CDs. Fortunately, Coffee Break’s Music For Mental Health doesn’t fit the stereotype in the slightest.
The compilation is a Brisbane initiative to support Group 61, a charity that supports and provides companionship to those suffering from mental illnesses. 26 Queensland artists donated their music to the record, and the result is a fascinating and even uplifting collection of songs packed onto two discs – talk about value for money!
The record contains a good mixture of better-known artists such as The Panics, Emma Louise, and Thelma Plum, but also some younger newcomers like indie outfits Spring Skiers and Lucy Star Satellite. For indie music lovers, it’s a heaven of up-and-coming acts to definitely keep an eye on!
The mix of styles on the compilation not only makes for a pleasant listen, but also displays the diversity of Brisbane’s ever-growing music scene. Everything from Aussie hip-hop to acoustic singer-songwriter material to indie rock is covered, suiting fans of each genre, but also introducing a wider audience to genres they may not have tried before – it’s certainly not a formulaic, one-style record.
It’s great that something is finally breaking the mould of a charity CD that contains musty old jazz standards; music that has nothing to do with the cause.
Music For Mental Health is something you can really engage with; listen to the lyrics and really think about things, something that mirrors the aim of the charity the record supports.
It’s not hugely exceptional; it’s rare for an entire compilation to capture its audience the whole way through, but it is filled to the brim with beautiful songs by fantastic Australian artists. Mental health and Australian music are both so important; promoting them both at the same time is a perfect idea, one that this record executes excellently.
