Album Review: The Townhouses - Diaspora

The Townhouses, aka Melbourne solo artist Leigh Hannah, is one of many Australian musicians currently riding the ambient sound train. On Diaspora he creates soundscapes with a cornucopia of synths, reverberating guitar lines and his own mutterings, with relaxed results.

Hannah claims that Diaspora is a musical discussion of Australia's current immigration policy, a pretty bold statement considering the music sounds more like a lazy springtime jaunt through the fields. How the listener is supposed to deduce his political meanings is a mystery, though one can respect his determination to give deeper meaning in songs like Geography, on which his falsetto is prominent, melodious with tinkling bells in the background.

The record features a wealth of local talent making appearances, including the always intriguing Guerre on the title track, a haunting tune that carries hints of African and tropical sounds, made overpoweringly heartbreaking thanks to the repeated vocals of “Do you miss your land? Do you miss your love?”

Diaspora is pleasant, and that tends to be the problem. It doesn't surprise but neither does it disappoint. It coasts along in its world of collected sounds, brushing up against emotional evocation before sliding back to safety. Moments like Schoenberg, featuring another local talent in the form of Rainbow Chan, stand out all the more for it. There's tinkering and percussion aplenty, but it doesn't ebb and flow, there's no sense of a climax and, without that, Diaspora is simply an inoffensive collage of sound.