STEPHEN CUMMINGS

REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY (Head Records)

As the song sort of goes: when everybody else got fat, Stephen stayed thin. After the heyday of The Sports, Cummings dabbled with further pop stardom and then settled into making some of the finest adult albums in Australia. He simply hasn’t stopped. Every year or two a new album would land and the quality never falters. Here Cummings teams up with Billy Miller (Ferrets) to produce another addition to the cannon. Other old friends who turn up to help out include Bill McDonald (Four Hours Sleep) and singer Rebecca Barnard. As always with Cummings there’s a mix of moods. One minute he’s mining the rockabilly he loved so much as a young man and the next he’s channelling a realm that used to belong to Van Morrison. The album starts with computer blips and it’s clear that Cummings, again, is prepared to ring the sonic changes. ‘Ooga Boga’ heads to the swamp: it’s murky and hypnotic. ‘All Day’ is a rocker, while ‘You Should Get Out More’ is a jewel that should get added to a long list of masterworks. Long may he run.

[rating:4/5]

Andrew White