As the days grow shorter and shorter, the weather cools down and the wet dog smell of drenched commuters on the tram sets in, one begins to long for the heady days of summer. Enter Buckley Ward’s, So Pretend. The lazy guitars and dreamy vocals of ‘Into The Darkening Blue’ allow the mind to drift to a warmer place but beyond the pretty melodies and catchy choruses lay incredibly smart and well thought out lyrics.
‘Exes And Ohs’ possesses one of the saddest and strangely catchy choruses in recent memory. Everything about So Pretend is infinitely listenable and so Australian in the beautiful Grant McLennan/Go-Betweens kind of way, not the aggressive Cronulla riots kind of way. The perfectly executed tension of ‘Breathing In’ with its slightly playful almost Caribbean sound (not as weird as it sounds) is just one of a million examples of why this album is a must to listen to. Serious contender for best release of 2012.
– Madison Thomas
