Positive review of Mark Seymour’s Mayday album.

Author:  Jeff Jenkins, JB Hi-Fi Stack Magazine.

Date: 29 May 2015.

Original URL: http://stack.net.au/music/reviews/mark-seymour-and-the-undertow-mayday-

Article Text

Ex-Hunters and Collectors frontman emerges from reunion with strong solo effort.
What is home? That’s the question Mark Seymour ponders on his ninth solo album and third with The Undertow.

Yep, this is a concept album, but there are no easy answers or three-word slogans. This is the story of modern Australia, where it’s “one rule for the filthy rich, another one for the weak”, the nation is filled with “celebrities and sycophants”, desperate people seek asylum, shock jocks are “screamin’”, and musicians are searching for meaning.

This is as good as any album Seymour has made. The Undertow might lack numbers (there are only three of them: guitarist and producer Cameron McKenzie, bass player John Favaro and drummer Peter Maslen), but they’re capable of delivering both power and poignancy. Onee many special things about this album is that it showcases both sides of Seymour – it’s strident and sensitive, and both qualities sit comfortably alongside each other.

Mayday is deeply moving. “I’m too old for cryin’,” Seymour sings in Irish Breakfast, “but I’m too young to let memories fade.” Elsewhere, he declares, “I got revolution in my head.” The dream is alive.

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