Hello Me to You

Love It

     

Austrial has given the music world AC/DC, Icehouse, Men At Work, Midnight Oil, Crowded House, and INXS amongst others. If there is any justice in the world, Victor Stranges will be amongst those great nemes in terms of recognition and accomplishment. Stranges's 2009 album "Hello Me To You" is a piece of Pop/Rock near-perfection. There's very little here that Stranges doesn't do well; a striking accomplishment considering that the album is almost entirely written, produced, and performed by himself. The result of his efforts is a terrefic musical showcase that maintains its consistency while never sounding dull or as if the songs are blending into one.

The first thing the average music listener will notice is that Stranes sounds very much like Elvis Costello; the vocal similarity is uncanny in particular. To say the music and lyrics is Costello-like is also warranted, but instead of being a sound-alike, Stranges is to Costello as Bob Seger is to Bruce Springsteen; there are similarities, but there are differences enough to where Stranges can settle into his own identity. Still, Costello is a good baseline for determing how much you'd enjoy Stranges's music since he doesn't reinvent Pop/Rock music in anyway her; he just takes his own music and plays the hell out of it.

Review by Heath Andrews