David Bridie
What: WAKE (Footstomp)
Details: davidbridie.com
MELBURNIAN David Bridie seems to be an angry man, although his latest album is largely serene.
The 12 tracks slip easily between the personal and the political, the best example being Chatter in which a dysfunctional relationship parallels his nation’s relationship with those seeking asylum.
Both require a particular kind of blindness. It’s a simple, touching end to a triptych that, beginning with Stoned in Kabul, follows refugees from war zone to island prison, where they sit outside the public consciousness.
It’s here that the album title starts to make sense – it’s intended as a slap in the face for our willing ignorance.
For the most part, Bridie’s anger plays out as resignation rather than hot fury.
The instrumentation is gentle and minimalistic, allowing songs to be part of a single conversation.
