Joel Burgess

Criminally under-rated and under appreciated. Xavier Rudd should be a name on every music lovers lips and 'Koonyum Sun' should go down as a classic album in every collection. Those who've been touched by Rudd's talent will just have to content themselves with this best-kept secret. Rudd is, by most reports, an easy-going, affable character but he bares his soul from the opening track to the last. 'Sky to ground' is a stirring anthem reminding us of our beautiful natural world and our need to protect it. "Time to smile" is the uplifting musing of a man who is giving himself permission to smile finally. If "Breeze" doesn't jerk a tear from your eye you are not human. Hard to draw comparisons to other artists and albums, but if you can think of the most honest, organic and soulful music that could possibly be made it's in this album.

A classic. Thom Yorke and co's 1997 effort not only broke the mould of their previous releases it seemed to foreshadow a future direction of the band's sound as well as predict the digital-age malaise that was to come in the following 2 decades. The cerebral opener "Airbag", the Bohemian Rhapsody-like "Paranoid android" to the often played "Karma Police" are examples of the bands strongest work, however they are not even the best songs on the album IMO. The complexity of Radiohead's compositions means that every listen peels open a new layer of sound and mood which leaves the listener feeling like they are hearing the album for the first time, every time.

One of, if not, the most under-rated album of the 90's. Released at a time when Grunge's star was starting to fall, the album found it's biggest success in Australia where it reached #7 on the album charts. The 'Urge have always had a reputation of going against the grain of whatever is popular at the time and forging a sound that is uniquely theirs. From the bouncy pop-rock of opening track "Jaywalkin'" and "Somebody else's body" to the angst introspection of tracks like 'The break", "View of the rain" and "The mistake" the bands lyrical candidness and musical composition keep you engaged and entertained on a level that not many bands are able to. Because of the timeless quality of "Exit the Dragon" it is an album that is worth listening to and putting on your streaming playlists.