Sean McMahon: Welcome to Gippsland (Ep, 2012)

“Concept albums can often be bloated and pretentious but this ‘storybook’ album from Sean McMahon avoids the usual trappings. It is an earthy and understated collection of folk songs, each one telling a tale of life on the ‘dark side of the great dividing range’. There are several characters that emerge from the songs: Mary played by Liz Stringer, Case played by Laura Jean and Jim’s friend played by Matt Walker. The album comes with a lyric sheet with sketches and comments helping you make sense of the story. Despite this, after a couple of listens, the songs don’t seem to fit together as a straight narrative. This is not a bad thing as it leaves plenty of space for the listener to use their imagination and add their own interpretations. Regardless, each song works as its own story and the melodies are really catchy – I was humming along after the first listen. Even without delving into the lyrics, the music on the album evokes its own sense of place. Banjos and acoustic guitars interspersed with twangy electric guitar licks create a sense of isolation and bring to mind long winding car trips, dusty roads and lonely nights. At times, it all seems unrehearsed as if the musicians all came together one night and figuredout the arrangements in the back shed. This gives the songs a rugged charm. If you like your music folky and mellow then you are certain to love this album. It is a bunch of songs that you can either take at face-value or put in the time to reflect on the story contained in the lyrics. Either way it will grow on you.” (Badcamp)