Water is something on everyone’s mind. In the Australian habitat, it appears we are fighting off floods, searching for more, or battling the elements that surround us. Charles Jenkins, a much underrated tale spinner from Melbourne, has a dry wit and sardonic style that enables him to take this topic upriver and down.
Jenkins is joined by his band the Zhivagos to take listeners on a journey to many ports of call. The group is made up of Dave Milne on drums, Art Starr on bass, Davey Lane on guitar, and Matty Vehl on keyboards. They can sound like Big Star at one moment and The Faces the next, with so many variables in between. The sparkling and bright mix at the hands of Justin Rudge is truly perfect for this gathering of waterlogged tunes.
The 11 songs on this record commence with the cultural touchpoint of instrumental surf music under the humorous title of ‘The Prime Minister Is Missing’.
‘Christmas Island’ is the second instrumental presented and it is dark and ominous. Heavy on the guitar and the deep bass, thoughts move quickly within the mind of a refugee approaching this island either in the hold of a smuggler’s boat or the arms of the law.
The frontman has the ability to write and deliver songs that are styled, at times, in the cinematic mode of Randy Newman – a feat for any songwriter. ‘Sweet Mildura’, the birthplace of Jenkins, flows like the Murray River. Mixed with the layered production of keys and smooth, choir-like backing vocals, it is easy to see that this song was written from a warm place in the songwriter’s heart.
As water runs fast and sometimes deep, so does this beautiful collection. Seek it out and cure your thirst.
