Dick Diver - New Start Again

One year after releasing Dick Diver’s third album, "Melbourne, Florida” Trouble In Mind is pleased as punch to re-present the revered Melbourne, Australia band’s first two albums 2011’s “New Start Again” & 2013’s critically acclaimed (and The Age-nominated Best Album) “Calendar Days” for eager & discerning listeners. 

The band sprung to life in 2008 from four talented songwriters & members of Melbourne’s (still) thriving DIY/Punk scene who sought inspiration in the precious, yearning chords & poetic lyrics of Brisbane’s Robert Forster and Grant McLennan of the Go-Betweens rather than the squall & feedback of Aussie punk forefathers The Saints or the ugly, brutish pummelling of feedtime or the Cosmic Psychos. The band’s lyrics speak to a very real & present Australian existence, often referencing everyday slices of life and utilizing native turns of phrase, congealing it all into rich earworms with casual, affable, scrappy charm.    

“New Start Again” was the band’s first full-length offering after their debut “Arks Up” single, simultaneously surprising many & no one with its sprawling range of melodic twists & turns. From opener “Through The D” - which starts with a patient drum pulse before launching into the infectious jangle of guitarists Rupert Edwards and Alistair McKay’s chiming chords - to casual anthem & album closer “Head Back” (penned by bassist Al Montfort), the band holds the listener’s attention steady and true with inventive and memorable songs.

For those who’d just discovered the band via their US debut “Melbourne, Florida”, or for those who missed out initially, Trouble In Mind presents the missing pieces of the puzzle from this truly essential & important band. “New Start Again” is ready to get started again. Re-released in North America on compact disc & vinyl, housed in (nearly identical) artwork by band member Steph Hughes, and includes a full-color inner sleeve.

RIYL: Go-Betweens, The Clean, The Bats, The Triffids, The Feelies, Twerps, Ultimate Painting, Courtney Barnett