Album Review: Adam Gibson & The Ark-Ark Birds - Cities Of Spinifex

The noticeably Australian Cities Of Spinifex once again highlights the distinctive delivery style and worldview of Sydney wordsmith Adam Gibson, this time a far more personal collection of songs steeped in crisis and resilience.

Whether delving into the tragic loss of a friend (Trivia Night), suburban desperation and alienation (Indian-Pacific) or recounting crisis and desperation a long way from home (Dead Europe), Gibson's eye for minutiae shines brightly and brings both perspective and empathy to even the most dire situations. Musically it's a far more ambitious and varied backdrop provided by his established band, but it's still Gibson's mostly spoken-word revelations which really bring the heft, especially on chilling true crime finale Belanglo, Byron And the Road Between which recounts Gibson's brush with a serial killer as a junior news reporter.