underwater

Midnight Oil, “Weddingcake Island” — I have an ambivalent attachment to these guys, who’ve always flitted rapidly between self-conscious “artificiality” and “authenticity”, thus making even their best albums very strained affairs. Plus there’s the weird mix of fundamentalist Christianity, green politics and nationalism. So those who only know Midnight Oil for their rock-monumentalist declarations might be surprised by “Weddingcake Island”, from their 1980 EP, Bird Noises. It’s a gorgeously delicate instrumental that pays homage to their origins in the early 70s as a pub band for surfers.