‘Last Night In Redfern Park’ sets the scene perfectly as the opening track tumbles out of the speakers. With the urgency of life in the inner city and both the bruises and exultant times that comes with that lifestyle, Keyes sets a lofty standard out of the gate and not unexpectedly he more than matches it across the nine songs that follow.

Across his previous five albums, Keyes has carved out a commanding catalogue of songs that dissect Australian society, particularly in Sydney, unflinchingly chronicling the lives of its inhabitants. He’s without doubt one of this country’s most underrated songwriters.

Keyes is a poet as much as a musician and singer. His words describe vivid and moving scenes and vignettes. He doesn’t attempt to paint a rosy picture, instead he sharpens his lens, takes off the filter and zooms in. In his own words, “These are stories of displacement, anarchy, homelessness and of people trying to hang onto each other in the face of what’s happening on the hard streets of the inner-city right now.”

You can hear the influence of Reed, Dylan, Springsteen and Strummer in these songs, which possess a poetic and emotional impact similar to lyricists such as Willy Vlautin and James McMurtry. Musically, producer and musician Michael Carpenter has perfectly captured the passion and dynamic sonic range required to convey the weight of Keyes’ words. Songs such as ‘Cracker Night’, ‘Down On My Street’ and ‘Streets of a Black & White Town’ are particular highlights but really there’s zero filler on this landmark Australian album. 

Chris Familton