Album Review: Husky - Stardust Blues

On their fourth outing Stardust Blues, mystical folk-rock group Husky continue to delve into new sonic areas whilst retaining their darkly beautiful knack for melody, and subsequently push the envelope conceptually.

Based around a reflective 24-hour journey throughout Melbourne (influenced by the demolishing of the famed Westbury Hotel where the majority of the album was written), Stardust Blues captures a sense of grievous optimism - a longing for the past (Light A Cigarette, that’s your cue), mixed with a sense of rebuilding new dreams, with album closer My Darling Ghost looking toward the light on the horizon after a dark passage.

The emotions being processed by the group are apparent throughout, with more stripped back musical arrangements allowing frontman Husky Gawenda to carry the songs through soundscapes that drift between indie pop, psychedelic and folky rock realms with convincing feeling.

Granted, the middle of the record feels somewhat sparse, with the noir-esque songs in no hurry to make their point. However, cuts like Foxes Of Caulfield and Hearse On A Highway Rainbow reward the listener for their patience, examples of a band that continue to explore new sounds whilst remaining loyal to their melodic beauty.