Album Review: Bored Nothing - Bored Nothing

Melbourne bedroom artist Fergus Miller is Bored Nothing and his self-titled debut long-player is a collection of tracks from his cassette releases dating back to 2010, plus a smattering of new tunes. Despite this ad hoc genesis and the inherent limitations of the four-track set-up that he favours, Bored Nothing hangs together beautifully as a collection and proves to be a fine introduction to this precocious talent.

Shit For Brains opens proceedings with gentle, intricate, country-tinged indie rock; it's a dreamy swathe of gauze that meanders purposefully to its inevitable conclusion. Following track Popcorn is relatively jarring with flourishes of percussion and more abrasive guitar, but the vocals remain soft and passionate. Indeed it's Miller's voice that draws the obvious comparisons of his project to Elliott Smith, although this is more due to their similar vocal timbre rather than any shared life outlook (although soft acoustic numbers such as Get Out Of Here and Charlie's Creek blur that distinction). Musically, for the most part, it's more akin to '90s acts such as Sebadoh or The American Analog Set, yet retains its own distinctive flavour, especially when Miller lets go such as in the hook-riddled chorus to Just Another Maniac.

Lyrically the tone is predominantly weary and resigned, but this is offset by sporadic uplifting moments (Darcy, Echo Room, the surf stomp of Let Down), which add welcome diversity to the journey. Throughout the record Miller proves that you can work in the lo-fi realm without sacrificing ambition and attention to detail and ultimately his overriding laidback slacker charm makes Bored Nothing a diverse record that easily holds the attention for the duration. Excellent debut.