Album Review: Dick Diver - Calendar Days

What's that? You'd like to hear what one of the best albums of the year sounds like? You'd like to hear what a local Melbourne band sounds like? You'd like to feel good, whether wrapped up in a blanket on a wintry Saturday afternoon or driving down to the beach on a summer's day? But you only want to listen to one record? Problem solved.

If you've been anywhere near a radio broadcasting community frequency over the past couple of years, you'd have no doubt already heard of Dick Diver. Their 2011 album New Start Again was a jangly, loose adventure through Melbourne's inner suburbs. Despite a preceding EP, New Start Again appeared out of the blue to much low-key applause, and there was a sense that Dick Diver would have a lot more where that came from.

Lush, layered and continuing the band's healthy similarities to The Go-Betweens, Calendar Days sees a change in direction from their earlier work and the band leaning towards a more structured, purposeful release. Singles Alice and Water Damage are perfect indications of this new direction, and the resultant airplay on national radio (not to mention a beautiful Sunday morning set at Golden Plains) suggest Dick Diver have taken the next step in their rise.

To find Dick Diver on the iconic Chapter Music label is no surprise at all. Distinctively Australian, and distinctively Melburnian, the band wear their hearts on their sleeves, and with song titles like The Two Year Lease and Gap Life, this new album continues the band's love of everyday suburban life.

Dick Diver are ready for the real world. If only we could keep them for ourselves a while longer.