Dan Sultan - Get OutWhile You Can

Mon 15th Mar, 2010 in Music Reviews

Ever since a star turn in the unexpectedly popular musical road-trip film, Bran Nue Dae, it seems that Dan Sultan is getting a lot more attention. The indigenous Australian performer has received a variety of successes post- Nue Dae, including appearances at the Big Day Out, praise for his continued work with Melbourne’s SLAM (Save Live Australian Music) initiative and even garnering the nickname of “Black Elvis” along the way.

Nearly all of the songs on Get Out are credited at least in part to Sultan’s guitarist, Scott Wilson, and it’s fairly clear that Sultan is relying on the sounds, styles and ideas of others to carry him forward. Raised on a steady diet of 45 RPM pop, rock and soul, his influences are difficult to ignore. Splashes of Elvis (the hip-swinging Dingo giving an Aussie touch to Presley’s Hound Dog ), James Brown (the funky Cadillac and a Mustang) and even Australia’s own Jimmy Barnes (throaty ballad Never Let You Down ) are woven throughout the album, just some of the more recognisable inspirations. It makes for a release that, while perfectly listenable, is still searching for its own identity. It’s not a matter of what has influenced him to make the music in the first place, but what these influences can do for his own music.

The closest Sultan really comes to individualising his sound is on the album’s middle-section ballads, with an openness and honesty in his voice. Take the walking country-blues of Old Fitzroy, which documents troubled upbringing and questioning of the future on some of the album’s best lyrics: “I hit the road when I was fifteen/My mother died and my dad got mean/Been locked up since twenty-one/I was my mother’s only son”. The stripped-bare acoustic title track holds a similar tenderness, documenting a demised relationship with Sultan’s quivering howls begging the recipient to “leave before the tide” and “sail on…leave this place behind”. It may seem simple, but it’s this kind of heartfelt performance that encapsulates the power in Sultan’s voice.

Sultan’s voice is the true consistent on Get Out While You Can. Though each song’s level of quality is bound to vary, the passion and effort put into the vocals on the whole album is indisputable. Whether it’s the smooth romantic on opener Goddess Love or the emancipated rocker in Letter, it’s always a pleasure to hear the man’s voice. He’s definitely got one of those phonebook voices – y’know, the kind that could sing numbers and addresses and still be interesting to hear.

Backing vocals are rare, but arrive in the form of sweetened female counterparts. Former Killing Heidi singer Ella Hooper adds her distinctive harmonies to the aforementioned Fitzroy and the charming Come Home Tonight; whilst the notoriously soulful Bull sisters (Vika and Linda) throw some gospel-esque liveliness to Letter and Cadillac, making them all the more enjoyable.

The ghosts of Sultan’s muses may haunt on several cuts, but it’s easily forgivable and forgettable once you grow accustomed to the entire listening experience. Get Out While You Can is honest, charming and fun to listen to – definitely one of the finer independent Australian releases of late. Only one question remains: will any of the other Bran Nue Dae cast members have such luck on their hands? Hopefully, Geoffrey Rush will finally get around to that spoken word album…