I'm having a 70s flashback as I listen to Rough Diamonds and it makes me realise that I miss the melodic epics of the old days when radio was crammed with huge sounds; ambitious musical extensions of simple but beautiful melodies. Rough Diamonds a monster of a tune, which makes sense of the departure of Rod (guitar) and Justin (vocals/guitar) from Australia's latest 'cool' act, The Sleepy Jackson. There's no way Justin Burford could have survived on the road with the Sleepies. He must have been itching to explore the compositional flair that makes this debut EP a must for lovers of well-crafted tunes. Sometimes a large of dose of attention in the lead up to a debut can eventually send a band crashing down to earth, but this is a complete gem of a recording and easily jumps up to the #1 spot on my current personal Top 5. Jim Moginie and Magoo are responsible for the production and what a formidable duo they make. If you want to recreate sounds from a past era, Magoo is your man; just ask Regurgitator or Gerling. While there's no real formula to the EOF sound, you can rely on each song to contain rockin’ verses and a mammoth (I really mean MAMMOTH!) chorus. An airy quality adds a mystic quality and Justin's voice is superb, leaving an impression that, personally, I'm finding hard to shake off.

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Tracklisting
1 Rough Diamonds
2 Anything Goes
3 Be Like That
4 She's Love

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