ALBUM IN FOCUS

strategic alliance of musicianship with creativity that does not represent music for music’s sake but vie for our emotional attention also.

And that is a welcome departure.

If I were to choose a recurrent musical sensibility that courses throughout the LP, I would nominate funk-fuelled indie pop as the dominant strain.

And yet, it is pulled this way and that by jaunts into a prog-rock-like territory, as in Face To The Palm , noise-inspired industrial rock in Walking Through Mud , and indie folk, such as in Knowledge Of Sally .

Mostly, the production follows the requirements of these various modifications, with some tracks nuanced with just the proper doses of difference. To whit, the shufflebased sibling tracks, The Obvious Thing and The Contract

So, once again, Half Past Midnight Thirty is another reveal not only of Morgan Quinn’s ambitious focus, but the ever-developing finesse of his abilities to achieve those lofty and admirable ambitions.

VINCE LEIGH

Half Past Midnight Thirt y is NISSAN: Unstoppable’s follow-up to the 2021 album Cereal Sounds , a wide-ranging detonation of experimental electroeclectic indie pop.

And the new one?

There is a similar approach at play, utilising the conventional with the non-conventional, toying with arrangements, textures, disjointed melodic counterpoints, and the notso-disjointed, exploring the edges of a variegated style base, which include funk, pop, electro, and the occasional retro-flavoured fusion of the more amiable genres.

But there are some notable changes. Perhaps one of the most significant differences is the consistency of the album’s appropriation of guitars, which seems to be—aside from the voice work—the governing instrument; at least, in terms of song craft and, to a lesser degree, the production.

Morgan Quinn (aka NISSAN: Unstoppable), the former member of Canberra band Pleased to Jive You, has kept the more intrusive sound excursions heard on Cereal Sounds to a minimum and included songs with more traditional tendencies.

Quite a few of the 18 tracks on display exceed the two-and-a-half-minute mark and feature elements that allude to a

Jodi Martin - 21 & Restless

BMA Bossman Allan Sko has a throughly stimulating conversation with Boss Lady Jodi Martin, who is swinging into town to mark a very special occasion indeed...

Singer-songwriter Jodi Martin is known by her loyal following as a road warrior –famous for years of touring Australia in her

Toyota van, armed with just her songs and her guitars. Jodi’s track Diesel perfectly captures her passion and dedication to touring her music, and the adventures the touring life has sparked for her.

And there have been some grand adventures along the way – like Jodi’s songwriting road trip from New Orleans to New York State with her hero Arlo Guthrie, which spawned Jodi’s stunning 2016 album Saltwater

“This year marks 21 years since my first album [Water and Wood] was released by indie label Little Big Music,” Jodi enthuses, “alongside luminary Irish stablemates Mundy and Glen Hansard’s The Frames.”

And to celebrate her 21st year of touring and recording music, Jodi is playing a very special show at one of her favourite Australian venues – Smith’s Alternative right here in Canberra on Sunday, 12 March at 3pm.

“I’ll unveil some never-before-released songs from the vault,” she teases.

To further mark the occasion, Jodi is releasing a three-album set called The Never Settle Trilogy.

“It includes a collection of the best songs I wrote between the age of 4 and 21,” she says. One such track, and an undoubted highlight, is the hilarious Tommy the Toyota – an epic blues rap immortalising her Dad’s ute and its dramatic escapades.

“The funny thing is, it’s not just 21 years since Water and Wood started this ball rolling,’ Jodi reflects. “It was another 21 years before that when I wrote my first song that I can still remember!’

And will said song be unveiled at Smith’s, do tell?

“Yes, absolutely. I was only 4, so it will be a slightly vulnerable moment. But it is funny,” Jodi laughs.

Jodi’s early years of songwriting clearly paid off, because by the time she turned 16, Kasey Chambers recorded her song Why for the Dead Ringer Band’s ARIA Award winning Homefires album, inspiring a young J to keep on writing.

Jodi’s 21st anniversary has also inspired her to start writing a book that, “chronicles my adventures, including my journey to overcome depression through authentically processing my emotions. It was the very thing that drove me to write and share songs in the first place.”

And there is a reliable whisper that the first chapter may be unveiled at the show! This intimate concert at Smith’s Alternative - Sunday, 12 March - will attest to why Jodi has become the respected songwriter and storyteller that she is - both at home and beyond. 3pm - 6pm, $30 via venue