One of the pleasures of Stephen Cumming’s memoir Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy? is its fleeting impressions of a similarly individualistic Australian rock musician, Steve Kilbey, he of The Church fame. Cummings clearly is wary of Kilbey, with whom a clash is to be expected (both are volatile as all heck), but he also admires him deeply.
The Church continue to pump out perky material (I’m looking for Untitled #23, their latest) but a potent vein of super-druggy, melodic rock has been mined for years by Steve Kilbey as solo artist. Painkiller, the latest offering of eleven toons concocted in his Sydney studio, with the help of Church member Tim Powles, is both typical and one of his best. Chugging songs populated with swirling keyboards and guitar figures thrum under his wonderful, impressionistic lyrics. Every song resolves into a swooning chorus. Certainly Kilbey’s solo output can be indulgent (the final song ‘Not What You Say’ runs for over half an hour!) but for the most part Painkiller is restrained, sometimes even commercial in sound (in a different world, that is). Standout tracks are the pulsing ‘Outbound,’ speedy ‘Wolfe,’ and slower ‘Spirit in Flames.’
Painkiller reveals itself with repeated listening as a treasure . . . heartily recommended for alternative fans.