To be christened “Australia’s James Blake” by a number of noteworthy admirers seems a bit of a backhanded slap in the face to me. While there’s obviously much to like about Oliver Tank, being so closely aligned by critics to the sound of a single current hipster holds a fair deal of danger, not the least being the suggestion that Tank is merely recreating what he’s heard elsewhere. I’m going to be honest and say I haven’t listened a whole lot to James Blake so, for me, Tank is reminiscent of a bunch of other artists. To my ears, there’s a wider diversity at play.
Lead single from the Dreams EP is ‘Last Night I Heard Everything In Slow Motion’ and the mix of orchestration and electronics reminds me quite a deal of Owen Pallet. Tank’s voice has a warmth and depth that brings great intimacy to the track, something that is consistent across the 6 songs here. There is a laid back mood to the whole EP, even when the beats are solid. ‘I Love You’ features a Massive Attack-style drum groove underpinning minimal sonic washes to great effect. In other places, other current Sydney artists are evoked. Particularly on a track like ‘The Last Time’ I am reminded of Valar with their mellow melodicism and vocal timbres. In particular, there are a number of tracks that could fit very comfortably on a Karoshi album (disclaimer – I work closely with Karoshi) with their atmospheric electronics, synth-bell melodies and brooding vocals.
Tank was recently taken across to Iceland’s Airwaves Festival after winning a (quality not popularity based) competition on Sydney’s FBi Radio. That he was chosen as representative of Sydney seems quite appropriate to me as he reminds me of some of Sydney’s best current features. Dreams is a debut EP and stakes out solid ground with hints at greatness ahead. Oliver Tank will grow with time and develop his own particular sonic patch. But, at this point in time, there is much to enjoy in his solid songwriting and warm, moody production.
Adrian Elmer
