MARK LUCAS & THE DEAD SETTERS

ONWARD INTO THE FOG

INDEPENDENT

Mark Lucas and his band of Dead Setters have been a fixture on the Sydney alt-country/roots music scene for the last two decades, playing the bars, clubs and bowlos, and every couple of years casting a new CD of songs out into the world. Those missives from the political and personal heart of Lucas are consistently rewarding, a plethora of musings from both formative years and contemporary escapades.

Onward Into The Fog, a catchphrase of sorts for the dogged experience of surviving in an ageist industry, is as good as anything Lucas has released. Fifteen songs that range from the old-time country of opener ‘My Ring Still On Your Finger?’ to Zydeco-flavoured rock n’ roll (‘Sally Anne’) and soulful funk on ‘Consider Me Gone’. Of particular note is the chorus of ‘Salty Tears’ with its absolutely beautiful and soulful refrain.

Lifelong influences such as Dylan, Petty, Springsteen, Knopfler, Nelson, and more recently James McMurtry slide in and out of this stylistically wide-ranging set of songs. Many of them address crossroads, life’s choices and new directions. References to lines, different sides of town, roads and stars, plus hopes and fears about the future pepper the songs.

The songwriting and variety of musical ground covered is impressive but credit should also be given to the playing of guitarist/producer Jake Lardot who provides the electric icing on the cake on this fine album.

CHRIS FAMILTON