Unscene may not be a turning point in Australian music but it is a definite indicator that we should ‘watch this space’.
Sydney-based artist Tim Fitz is described as a one-man band. He plays piano, drums, bass and guitar and probably dances very well. But listening to his fourth EP Unscene, it becomes obvious that Tim Fitz is not just a musical freak.
This EP is much more than a show of technical skill. It is summer stroll on a sunny synth Sunday. Unscene moves between rock crowd anthems like FBi favourite ‘Hospital’ through to sparser electronic numbers like ‘The Wanderer’. Using loops to mesh organic and digital sounds, Fitz mixes together a collection of songs that’s catchy, colourful and surprising.
Perhaps too surprising. There are times when Fitz wanders a little too far from his tried and trusted path of synth pop. In ‘Poem Of Suburbia’, the sudden rush of Australiana and country-twanged lyricism jars with the more modern sounding songs. There are other instances when it seems Fitz may be trying too hard, experimenting with too many genres.
In the pursuit to ‘break boundaries’, the EP becomes a little lost. Not quite rock, not quite pop. Fitz has yet to find that Goldilocks harmony between all that he is trying to explore. But the at times muddled musical wandering is done with an eagerness that is more charming than irritating. And when it does all come together, like on ‘The Wanderer’, you are left thinking that there might just be something more.
3/5 stars
BY MELISSA KITSON
Unscene is out now, released independently, available on bandcamp.
