Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males - Drowning In The Fountain Of Youth

Review by Sean Lynch

It must have been a weird moment for the guys signing the record contract with Dan Kelly for his latest album "Drowning In The Fountain of Youth". Because, the guy seems slightly off kilter. What can you really expect from an album with songs entitled The Lonely Coconut, Mail Order Bride and my personal favourite title My Brains Are On Fire! besides some cheesy novelty album that meshes 'Aqua' and The Ketchup Song together? Well...you can expect quite a bit.

Kelly has forged his way through the music industry with a mixed reception of fanfare. Since his debut album almost two years ago there have been several lineup changes in the Alpha Males camp (bassist Gareth Lillard defected to 'The Drones') as well as Kelly's own stint as part of his much beloved uncle's, Paul Kelly, band 'The Boon Companions' and their secretly released album "Stardust Five". However, with a few EPs behind him - last years "Pirate Radio EP" was superb - Kelly and his cohorts seemed to have finally settled an embarked on one of the better Australian releases of the year.

This is most definitely a grower, much like anything from the Kelly clan. As first time listeners can easily be excused for dismissing the spacious sounds, the sweet - yet not quite commercial vocals and the uncomfortable lengths of several songs. But there is something intoxicating about it all the same. Much like a lazy Sunday spring afternoon, where the weather is neither hot nor cold and all that can be heard are the faint wisps of the trees.

Kelly has seemed to inherit the knack of cleverly crafted lyrics from his uncle, with vocals that - to my dismay - seem to drive my girlfriend wild. Make no bones about it, there are some stand out ditties including the title track Drowning in the Fountain of Youth and the near perfect cross over EP track Drunk on Election Night, however there seems to be an element of inconsistency.

Much like the aforementioned "Pirate EP", Kelly seems to present half an album that you just wish the second half would be. Maybe it's just me, perhaps I haven't listened to it enough yet - but I would ideally love to make a Dan Kelly mixed tape and release that as his debut album (and include the brilliant If It's So Hard To Be Happy, Try Sad But More Outgoing). But I guess that's what progressing as an artist is. And lets face it, there aren't many musicians out there that could get near to writing some of the beautifully constructed pop melodies that Kelly has delivered so early on in his career.

Amazingly, this album seems to almost mis-represent 'The Alpha Males'. Having seen them play recently to celebrate the LP launch, the live atmosphere is completely different to the energy that the album offers and one can't help but feel that this latest effort might have been a little better served if some of that energy was injected into it.

It's not perfect - yet - but "Drowning In The Fountain Of Youth" will most definitely get many more runs in my CD player in future years. And Dan Kelly is well on his way to being one of the next generations most gifted talents.

RATING: 3 out of 5