With the amount of bad mojo surrounding the creation of Dallas Frasca's new album, what with stolen laptops and tour money, you could excuse the Melbournian hard rocker for any delays. Yet with the release of Sound Painter there is an iron will displayed that drives like a Russian fuzz pedal's distortion. Recorded in New York with 'minimal' overdubs by Andy Baldwin, the raw and immediate sound reeks of a life listening to classics, yet delivers a raw modern sound in rough strokes.

Songs such as the opener All My Love and Better Without You contain the hooks to get the crowd singing with searing vocal delivery backed up by a crack backing unit. Coming Home is a highlight, delivering subtle hints of '70s heavy rock layered within a dextrous duality of power and subtlety. This is a classic rock album with a modern twist, and one that tends to be immersed in the US style rather than its Australian counterpart. This is not to say its not good – it clearly is – but much of the album will be destined to appeal to an audience in both hemispheres. It has been said that US audiences in particular go for songs about liberty, and the slide ballad Freedom – replete with big audience driven-moments – would certainly appeal. Completing the album, Dallas shows a mellower Dusty Springfield-soaked folky side with Woman Scorned. This track provides a mellow antithesis to what is a tight, well-produced album that lays it all out for the world to see.

With versatility and musical integrity such as this on display, it seems that Frasca is destined to create her own luck.