This material, though new, is not really new. There are so many parallels between First Frost and the earlier work of The Lucksmiths (MySpace), that it virtually dwarfs any element that could be considered a fresh direction from Australia’s pop darlings. And that is what makes First Frost both extremely comforting and a damn great album.

Take opening track “The Town & The Hills” as a prime example; it’s got all the elements that make The Lucksmiths one of the best pop groups in the world — it tells a story, includes elements of orchestration including trumpet, has memorable guitar and vocal hooks, and is totally lovable. That continues in “Good Light”, as it does throughout the rest of the album, all the way to closer “Who Turned On The Lights?”

What makes First Frost even more impressive is that it’s… like… the fifteenth album these guys have put out. And their abilities are not fading. They are not getting burned out. They’re just as strong today as they were a decade or more ago. While its late entry into the scene may knock it out of the top ten albums of the year, simply because it hasn’t had the time to sink in, you better believe it’s a damn good competitor for those prime spots. As I prepare to compile the list, who knows, it may just slip in.

The Lucksmiths: The National Mitten Registry [mp3]

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Matinee Records / Lost And Lonesome Recordings [CD, 2008]

1. The Town & The Hills
2. Good Light
3. A Sobering Thought (Just When One Was Needed)
4. California In Popular Song
5. South-East Coastal Rendezvous
6. The National Mitten Registry
7. Day Three Of Five
8. Never & Always
9. Lament Of The Chiming Wedgebill
10. How We Met
11. Song Of The Undersea
12. Up With The Sun
13. Pines
14. Who Turned On The Light?