Music

Luke Steele’s eccentricities are the stuff of legend. Over the last seven years, the Australian has seen ten band members come and go – including his own brother Jesse on drums. Some he sacked, two separate backing bands quit mid-tour, allegedly unable to cope with Steele’s fondness for liquor and his newfound love of God. Still, the personnel shifts have never affected The Sleepy Jackson’s meticulously orchestrated music, which is ostensibly a one-man vision. His debut ‘Lovers’ (2003) was an aural feast of Flaming Lips cosmic quirkiness and Brian Wilson’s goose-pimpling grasp of harmonies. ‘Personality…’ ticks the same reference points, but is a far superior record.

‘Devil Was In My Yard’ showcases their now trademarked see-sawing strings and a flood of ethereal harmonies, while ‘Miles Away’ strips away the layers until it resembles The Magic Numbers floating through the Milky Way rather than a field of flowers. Steele’s sonic scope is quite simply awesome and never more so than on first single ‘God Lead Your Soul’ – a divine blend of Burt Bacharach big band bombast and Mercury Rev’s delicate melodies – while lyrically he continues to grapple with religion and temptation. ‘Personality’ is a rich, gluttonous collection, which can be overwhelming but, by the same stroke, Steele’s talent is stupefying and as he was recently keen to point out, at 26 years old, he’s only just begun.