George Byrne - Goldmine (Laughing Outlaw)
3/5
By: Christiana Spens
While backpacking in Spain in 2004, the Australian George Byrne, by profession a photographer but with a yearning for music quickly spiralling out of control, had an epiphany under the hot Madrid sun. He realised he couldn't get no satisfaction from pictures alone, needed some tunes to harmonise his soul, bought a guitar from a busker and never looked back. So goes the legend, at least.
So here he is back in Europe on tour, with critical acclaim and radio play back in Australia, some gigs supporting such acts as The Church, Lior, Katie Melua and Alex Lloyd, and a confident stance and expression, dressed up in black jeans, white shirt, dark tie and velvet jacket, gazing out from his record sleeve. George Byrne looks happy, and George Byrne looks together.
Whilst February in the UK is not the most fun of months, he reminds us in this (just breaking from an Australian summer, which is still burning bright as we stand shivering in the cold) that soon the sun will play and we'll lay down in the sand, even if it's Nequay rather than Bondi Beach. It's a kind and timely reminder.
The three songs released on 'Goldmine' possess the warmth of a Sydney summer, laid back and slumbered and shining like the precious metal that drew people to Australia's Gold Coast in the beginning. He incorporates nuances of Neil Young and Beck and in some ways The Eagles, a lazy beach bum atmosphere, and yet still down-to-earth in that typically Australian manner. I get the feeling, from this record, that he knows who he is, what he's doing, where he's going, and he loves the sun and songs he plays - which is a frame of mind for any young musician or artist to aspire.
In two years he came from wandering aimlessly round Spain with no songs, to performing professionally. Whether he still plays the guitar he bought off that Spanish busker I do not know... and what happened to the busker remains a mystery...
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