Call it Hottest 100 Syndrome if you like: the curse of rapidly waning popularity after a starburst hit that's claimed everyone from Ben Lee to Augie March. It's not all bad — 28 Days haven't had two shits given about them for years. The Waifs' white sand-peppered brand of folk/country arguably deserved more mainstream longevity than the handful of respectable ARIAs and WAMi's that followed London Still.

Their seventh studio album isn't so far removed from material The Waifs played some years back when they still occupied cosy Blues & Roots Festival stages. However the shift is towards a more sedate, almost predictable model of twangish storytelling. Don't go hunting for any picturesque metaphors in Dark Highway, a perfunctory rumination from Josh Cunningham, broken down in the middle of nowhere without a friendly passerby to stop and help. If Harlan Howard once defined country music as "three chords and the truth" then The Waifs are winning here. When Vicki Thorn takes the mic on February, train lines furrow through the earth connecting Albany to Dollywood and the lack of latter-day appreciation from the National Youth Radio Network becomes all the more apparent. Their audience has moved on, but so have The Waifs. However, Beautiful You is perhaps too lacking in urgency for its own good. The communal vibes and bookish lyrics may inspire the impulse purchase of a Dream Catcher, but not a lot of singing along.