Well, I'm still recovering from this year's Homebake Festival so I'm in the perfect position to remember the day's festivities, including a consistent bombardment of intense performances and the obligatory serving of brilliant Australian music. The lingering hangover continues to connect me to the event. The headaches and nausea were kick-started by Magic Dirt, intensified by Spod, exacerbated by Katalyst, tortured by Gerling, condensed by Beast Of Bourbon and compounded by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. That was my personal agenda but looking at the tracklisting of Homebake 2003 instils a slight feeling of loss: the one's that got away. This disk proudly displays another progression for the local scene, which - with the current rock revival - is fast approaching the quality of the mid-90s indie boom that helped the popularity of Homebake while in its foetal stages. The pioneers are still rockin (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Church); the fat distortion of 90s acts continues to shock the youngsters (Magic Dirt, Screamfeeder, The Superjesus), quality electronic acts dragged many rock fans to the Big Top (1200 Techniques, Resin Dogs, Gering, PNAU, Katalyst); and the rock revivalists were in fine form (The Vines, The Casanovas, The Mess Hall). These acts, once again, have made a mockery of the term 'alternative' with approachable and chart-topping tunes that provide an intelligent option for music fans, so often sold tripe by the media and labels. If you're curious about Aussie music, Homebake 2003 is a perfect introduction regardless of genre. Blues, roots, rock, house, breaks, art rock, psychedelic, punk, electro, hip-hop, jazz, pop: it’s all covered on Homebake 2003.

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Tracklisting

Full listing of VARIOUS ARTISTS releases