CD Reviews: Bond St Bridge

Auckland songwriter Sam Prebble has turned a long-held interest in Antarctic history into a musical project that is anything but cold and isolated.

Recorded over three days (and often in one take), the nine tracks here clearly benefit from the busy schedule of shows from which this album stemmed.

Prebble and his small tight band imbue the range of sea shanties and ballads with a delicate warmth and assured touch.

And though washes of harmony hint at intimacy, moments of haunting despair are imparted in equal measure, providing various shades of grey to an ambitious musical landscape.

•  Bond St Bridge. The Explorers Club: Antarctica. Banished From the Universe Records.
  Four stars of five.

Single download: The Third Man
For those who like: Richard Thompson, Crooked Still