Dick Diver / New Start Again LP Vinyl

Dick Diver 'New Start Again' LP Vinyl

New Start Again, the debut album by Melbourne foursome Dick Diver, is warm and understated, shot through with casual grace and supported by real backbone.

It’s an intriguing combination of widescreen Australian sweep, 70s New York edge and 90s indie-rock scratch that transcends its influences to become truly honest and exciting.

The respectively wry and poetic songwriting of guitarists Rupert Edwards and Alistair McKay lobs Dick Diver up alongside Go-Betweens heroes Forster & McLennan, while their often epic fretwork bears echoes of Television and Yo La Tengo.

But bassist Al Montfort’s impeccable punk pedigree (UV Race, Total Control, Straightjacket) roughs up the band’s bookish proclivities, while drummer Steph Hughes brings a similarly frayed-edge appeal. Her background in bands from Children Collide to Boomgates gives the band an offhand, subtly swinging charm.