Album Review: Bernard Fanning - Civil Dusk

Bernard Fanning fans (Fanningtons?) rejoice: This third solo record comes just a few months before a promised fourth (Brutal Dawn) due early next year.

His celebrated solo debut Tea & Sympathy came during a Powderfinger hiatus; he knew he would return soon enough to his day job. But with that safety net gone, it seems Fanning has been tumbling all over the place to simply find his stance. His latest voyage of self discovery via recording in Spain, then to his new Byron Bay studio, has produced a collection on which he sounds kinda bored, not knowing whether to kick around a country pub (on the half pissed What A Man Wants) or rocking out a horrible Status Quo pastiche (on Change Of Pace).

There are occasional glimpses of the heartbreaking songwriter that parted rivers of emotion with a mere chorus like The Day You Come, My Happiness or Wish You Well. Rush Of Blood is Bernard crying upon a penitent piano and Unpicking A Puzzle's genteel simplicity has him staring at the bottom of another bottle claiming, "God is making music/The devil is making wine", while a ghostly synth creeps up Peter Gabriel-like from behind. It's a moment of genuine brilliance that could have ended the album in touching melancholy, but the mood is scotched by an unwelcome dart back into the pub for the missequenced Sooner Or Later. Civil Dusk's lyrical unrest is mesmerising, but unsure musical footing makes for a challenging listen.