it Records / Feeding Tube 28th August 2026
A remarkable blend of singer-songwriter musings, jazz, folky melodies and psychedelia. Starting out with the thoughtful ‘Curious Thing’, the first single. “I’ve seen the obvious pose, and the way that that goes”. So far, so singer-songwriter. But what follows, derails the expectations. A nine-minute, jazzy, flute and sax piece. Images flicker through the words and the atmosphere is a fusion of jazzy backdrop and sixties psychedelia. The guitar has a definite Roger McGuinn-ish flair. The piece jams and gets high on its fumes, tying itself into a beautiful knot.
Little preludes and interludes break up the longer pieces and make this into an album, not just a collection of songs. The moody ‘Commandeered Parade’ throbs along with tight thoughts wrapped around the undercurrent of bass and motorik rhythm. I get flavours of Leon Rosselson’s concise commentary in ‘In The Kitchen’, a short duet with Bonnie “Prince” Billy.
On this, his eighth album, Ned Collette probably has a pretty good idea of what he’s aiming at. Born in Australia and living in Berlin, there’s scope for influences from all over alongside a well-developed sense of what music defines him – which seems to be a flowing interaction oof many sources.
‘The Light Is Growing Old’ ties a twisting Dylan-esque tale into a weaving and bobbing folk-pop melody. Over eight minutes, the tale rambles and expands melodically. Determined to remain his own self, however multifaceted, he sings: “In the morning, when we are finished, I would very much like to go home”. Adding to the colour of the set are a multitude of regular collaborators, including Leah Senior on female vocals. On we go with the pulsing ‘Nothing Rare’. ‘Mammon’ is a pounding piece with bass and drums closely-tied while reedy organ and violin try to break free. The following ‘Sleep Song’ could have dropped out of Neil Young’s ‘American Stars ‘N Bars’, feturing gentle strumming that circles in on itself. The closer, ‘Miami Shadows’, is beautifully and simply picked out on guitar amongst droning keys into a dream-like space.
The whole, as an album, is a lovely excursion into a psychedelic mind-space and a song-writer that seeks to illuminate as well as elucidate.
Ross McGibbon