Looking at the few, but great rock (Midnight Oil, INXS) and pop (Crowded House) bands that Australasia shows to the world, it always had to be assumed that there must be some hidden treasures that they try to keep all for themselves. Hi Fi Way, the second album by the Sidney band You Am I, clearly supports this theory.
"Instead of getting a perfect grunge rock beard, I'd rather learn how to write songs properly," says band leader Tim Rogers, summing up their intention perfectly. While many people use "pop" nearly as a curse word, thinking of the lush and boring stuff that often sails under this flag, this is pop music in the best sense, centered around excellently written songs with melodies that have the potential to stick in your head almost longer than you wish. You Am I master the gentle art of making music that sounds relaxed and intense at the same time. It's not all slow and sweet, as there are a bunch of fast paced tracks, and though the guitar sounds make it crystal clear that this is music from the 90s, traces of Bristol pop can easily be identified. The fact that they were chosen as a supporting act for Soundgarden on a previous tour shows that they don't fit into a simple scheme.
You Am I are certainly one of the best things that the Australians have sent over the oceans recently. Hi Fi Way is an album that keeps growing with repeated listening, a true pop gem.
