Do you own "Calendar Days"? Well, you should. In my opinion it's the best Australian release so far in 2013. Melbourne four piece Dick Diver, with their second album, have crafted a shining collection of melody and pathos. It's a beautiful shimmering beast. Saturday night at the Red Rattler was part of their "Calendar Days" national album tour. In a word they were great. Here's three more words. Laconic, melodic and blissful. This band is very dear to my heart.

The only fault of the night was the length of the show. With no encore they barely scratched at under an hour. Also they didn't play my favourite tune in "Keno". But the rest, as I said, was pretty great. "Alice" was probably the standout, but I also loved "Interstate Forever", which was dedicated to Canberra and casual fascism. This band does reference Australia and place and country. But in a good way. It's never cliched, but rather subtle and evocative. The band have a wry sense of humour. They are creating wondrous melodies but they never take themselves too seriously. They swap instruments and vocal duties with regularity and ease. Rupert Edwards and Alistair McKay are the main men, but Al Montfort and Steph Hughes are a fine rhythm section and shine on vocals and humour as well. They can also jam out as well, as shown on the slightly epic "Amber" and "Flying Teatowel Blues". This is a band to be reckoned with. Maybe one day they will have a bigger audience, but until then I will content to be immersed in their music.


Set List
Blue & That
Alice
Interstate Forever
Amber
Water Damage
Calendar Days
Head Back
Tender Years
Lime Green Shirt
Flying Teatowel Blues