JACK LADDER AND THE DREAMLANDERS – HURTSVILLE
To quote Michael Caton in The Castle – “Tell him he’s dreaming.” That’s what I think every time I hear Jack Ladder again questioning how people could possibly compare his voice to that of Nick Cave. Please enter into evidence your honour Mr Ladder’s latest album Hurtsville. Item number two, your honour, Mr Cave singing In The Ghetto; item number three, if I may, Mr Cave singing Shivers. The prosecution rests your honour. Sure there is a touch of Lloyd Cole, and a bit more of Brian Ferry, but mainly it is Sir Nick. Now this is far from a bad thing. Item number one is Jack Ladder’s best album to date (and the greatest album ever recorded in Yass), full of reverb-laden guitar and his dark and rich baritone, along with three of the best tunes Ladder has written; the throbbing Beautiful Sound, the title track (please refer to evidence item number three) and the classic pop single Dumb Love. Then there is the Pretenders-on-Prozac of Cold Feet – “And now, that you’re here with me / I wanna….I wanna make like a tree / I wanna….I wanna leave.” Jack Ladder may be a reluctant front man, but the sooner he becomes comfortable in the role, the richer we will all be.
*** 1/2
