Dan Kelly is rapidly becoming a big noise Down Under. His uncle, Paul Kelly, is a star of long standing in Australia, but Kelly junior's profile is also now rising fast. Judging from his fifth album, the only thing I've heard by him, such attention is well deserved. In truth, it's his second solo album as he usually works with a group called the Alpha Males. Details aside, though, he's a joy to listen to because he combines the whacked-out madcap lyricism of Julian Cope with a musical sensibility that falls between the Beach Boys and Seventies glam dons The Sweet. In other words, his way with words is a treat but there's also usually a retro bubblegum pop element.
Check these opening lyrics from the title track, for instance, a Beatles-stoned-in-LA type number: "I fell asleep on a tram/ Harry Potter in hand/ I woke up drooling in the south of Vietnam/ With a controversial haircut and oversized hands". The song travels on across the world on a goofy mission and the listener rolls easily along. The man has charm. Kelly describes his songs as "weird psychedelic daydreams... about trying to escape", adding that they're ecological in context. This may be over-egging the pudding for his songs are primal creatures, subconscious rather than socially conscious - and melodically harking back to the late Sixties.
In Australia Kelly is likened to Bob Dylan but, while he has a certain kindred spirit with songs such as "Ballad of a Thin Man", really it's doubtful his cheerful psych-pop will garner such plaudits from critics over here. A more apt comparison would be that he's Australia's slightly smoother answer to Robyn Hitchcock - which is high praise round my manor. With his quiff, shades and affable skill at upbeat songwriting, it's to be hoped he traverses the globe to visit UK venues in the near future.
Find Watch the video for "Hold On, I'm Coming On" from Dan Kelly's Dream
