The Sleepy Jackson

• Luke Steele - vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Malcolm Clark - drums
• Rodney Aravena - bass (left 2003)
• Justin Burford - bass (left 2003)

The Sleepy Jackson are impossible to pin down. Just when you think beautifully-crafted pop songs are the sum of their musical aspirations, along comes a psychedelic burn-out or a country-ish ballad to counter songwriter Luke Steele's pop sensibility.

That diversity has been the secret of The Sleepy Jackson's success so far. As one rave review for their second EP 'Let Your Love Be Love' put it: "Luke Steele's lack of direction IS his direction; gospel to his rare artistic perception."

Since emerging from Perth, Western Australia 18 months ago The Sleepy Jackson have steadily built a fan-base in Australia and Europe on the strength of Steele's broad songwriting palette and his dynamic stage persona (think Jimi Hendrix meets John Lennon). The band's two EPs so far, 'Caffeine in the Morning Sun' and 'Let Your Love Be Love', were rich in artistic motifs, quirky spoken embellishments and acknowledgements of rock n roll greats from The Beatles to Gram Parsons.

Now The Sleepy Jackson present their first album, Lovers, and this much anticipated full-length debut merely confirms Steele as an artist of extraordinary depth and songwriting talent. It includes Steele's two best pop statements from those EPs, the gorgeously George Harrison-esque 'Good Dancers' and the lusciously melodic 'This Day', a song that boasts more hooks than a fisherman's jacket. That's another vital piece of Steele's armoury. He revels in the unexpected, twisting rudimentary rock and pop arrangements into something fresh, original and exciting. "It's getting easier and easier day by day," he says. "I've always been scared of becoming old hat. Every song has to be a little bit different, even if it's just a minor thing."

There's an embarrassment of riches to be had from the newer material on Lovers. Take the single 'Vampire Racecourse', another glowing example of Steele's pop craftsmanship. A thumping Velvets-style riff underpins a petulant rant on the corruption of the world, before breaking into a wailing chorus designed to crawl under your skin and stay there. "Is it what you want?" Steele screams. It will be. Counter that with the gently harmonic 'Acid In My Heart' - all longing and softcentred country swagger - and you get the idea about Steele refusing to be pushed into any particular zone.

The plot takes a further twist with 'Old Dirt Farmer', with an ironic opening that hints at Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan before exploding into a delicious, singalong country-pop stroll. That segues into the closing Morning Rain, which boasts, among other things, morning rain. There's also the wilting melodrama of 'Rain Falls for Wind', the psychedelic poetry of 'Apples' and the soulful skirmish 'Don't You Know'.

Recorded in Coogee, NSW with producer Jonathan Burnside, Lovers is the album that confirms The Sleepy Jackson as one of the most exciting long-term prospects to come out of Australia for many years.

And Steele is in no doubt that Lovers is just the beginning. "It's going to get bigger, broader .... and maybe a bit more screwed up," he says.

That's a recipe that whets the appetite.

Official Bio: May 14, 2003