Dark Matter

Ever since 1982, when Australia’s I Goanna band gifted I radio stations their enduring Top 10 hit ‘Solid Rock’, the track has remained an anthem of Aboriginal land rights. The solo career of the group’s fronting ‘whitefella’ singer-songwriter Shane Howard has continued to be intertwined with cultural respect, a deep sense of place and an innate indigenous-based connection to country. Alongside his healthy scepticism towards political bastardry, Howard’s work has retained those values over four decades, 14 solo albums, many collaborations and countless performances.

With his honest low-key voice slightly roughened these days, his insightful Irish-tinged lyricism has remained strong, as evidenced on this latest collection of poetic songs. Opening with the world-weary ‘What Do You Want From Me?’, Howard quickly settles into familiar folk-rock territory on ‘This Country’, which includes a brief traditional ‘lizard man’ chant. On the down-home duet ‘Palya Wiru Uluru’, which celebrates the closure of the sacred rock Uluru to tourist climbing, he shares writing-singing credits with Pitjantjatjara country elder Trevor Adamson. Howard then addresses immigration injustices on ‘Prison Island’ before joining Redgum’s John Schumann on the socially-frustrated ‘Times Like These’. At times almost despondent, but ultimately life-affirming, Dark Matter is a meaningful, thoroughly relevant album that suits the craziness of 2020.