Review - Orange “Whiff”
independent EP
Formed in 1996, five years after Ben
Scarfe and Kurt Austin got together to start writing songs, Orange present their
industry-lauded independent EP and it’s going to be some work following it up!
In Kurt’s own words, “Whiff” was “a long time coming”. This
record is five official tracks with blues/swamp leanings. Lyrically they go
places that not many would dare: sure there’s the love-lost,
sex-with-a-married-woman, you know the type. But then there’s the
sex-with-a-married-woman-who-could-have-been-his-mum, the
voyeurism-with-an-invitation-for-more, the local-crakc-head-who-gets-what-he-wants-until-it-all-comes-back-on-him-via-a-passing-truck.
Overall, it’s the accessibility, the
familiarity, with a cross of Badloves, Things of Stone & Wood,
and The
Cruel Sea throughout. Stand out tracks include Mrs Byron and Never Dig Up An
Irish Grave, but you might also have heard or seen Timothy and Evergreen on
the Big Backyard, Rage or
Homegrown/Aus-music radio programs at one point or another.
“Whiff” is an exceptional record
and by all reports you’d be doing yourself no harm getting down to a gig or two
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