Oh Mercy, ‘Privileged Woes’
published on 2nd September, 2009

The croon is making a comeback.

I’m not talkin’ Bing Crosby crooning; I mean the kind the New Romantics revitalised, and that The Smiths have stamped eternally, indelibly cool. It’s in new bands like Cut Off Your Hands and Foreign Born, and Melbourne’s shockingly able upstarts Oh Mercy.**After gaining considerable buzz off their EP, In The Nude for Love, Oh Mercy’s debut LP, Privileged Woes, is a killer collection of songs for springtime, with a wry sense of humor and catchy melodies. The kinda sweet 60s style produced by Phil Spector, Belle & Sebastian or Camera Obscura. They lilt, they jangle, they swoon; but thankfully, they always stay just this side of fey.

It’s great when they drift sideways into fuzz, like at the end of ‘Met A Wizard’, and with this strong a debut, there’s surely more greatness to come.

Related Content
  • watch

    One In A Million 2012

    Reality program One In A Million is the most accurate portrayal I’ve seen of how skaters actually are; how they look, talk, socialise,...

    by WILFRED BRANDT

  • hear

    Major Crimes, ‘Monsoon’ ...

    It’s a mellow trip this one. The duo of Ben McLaren (Hydromedusa, Spider Eggs) & Callan Visser (Mens Health, XL Vision, Bad Habits) concoct...

    by KARL MELVIN

  • watch

    Shame

    Steve McQueen’s beautifully crafted drama recalls Drive, and not just for transforming Manhattan into the same gritty, jaded demimonde as...

    by MEL CAMPBELL

  • read

    Teen Angels

    Since 1979, Teen Angels has been a testament to the fact that some very real people live lives that are very different from ours. Cover-to-cover,...

    by WILFRED BRANDT

  • stray

    Lost City Festival

    Just when you thought you were actually about to lose it, Lost City appeared. You’ve been looking for those mystery subterranean tunnels,...

    by STEPHANIE LYALL

  • read

    Peter Carey, ‘The Chemistry of...

    Bad news, team: people die. Peter Carey’s The Chemistry of Tears told me so. In the book, horology conservator Catherine Gehrig is beat up...

    by TOBY FEHILY