There’s Never Been a Crowd Like This

On his first solo album proper, Richard Davies looks back to his history in Australia, while grapping with his new life in America: in some ways, it’s an album as abstract travelogue, with Davies calling on Australian characters like actor Chips Rafferty to flesh out the memories he’s exploring. The songs are at once more formally considered than his earlier work in The Moles, yet still surreal and unpredictable: there are glimpses of Paul McCartney’s songcraft in tunes like “Sign Up Maybe For Being”, but the overarching touchstone seems to be the playful acoustic psychedelia of Bowie’s Hunky Dory. It’s both deeply considered and joyfully off-the-cuff.