ARTIST: Dimmer
You've Got To Hear The Music is the second album from Dimmer, recording vehicle for Shayne Carter, New Zealand's premier explorer of the credible corners of rock in the past 20 years.
Picking up where the previous Dimmer album, the critically acclaimed I Believe You Are A Star, left off three years ago, Carter's hushed, dark pop tones settle into a delicious groove on this new eleven song set.
That last outing was a densely-plotted excursion into electronic music. The new album has an immediacy belied in the urgent demand of its title. The majority of the set was written in a single, month-long, outpouring of new tunes and the eventual recording retains an organic relish to match the songs' genesis.
And if you are looking for proof that "New Zealand's greatest, most natural rock star" (so crowned in The Listener) has quietly evolved into a first-rate soulman without losing his musical edge, it is packed into each of these songs. No self-conscious posturing, just tracks oozing the cool heat that is the holy grail of soul expression...