Jeff Lang could potentially be the most commercially viable of the 'blokes with acoustic guitars' revolution, swinging from Melancamp's reverence of dust to Petty's slick swagger, often applied with punchy hooks more akin to Billy Joel than a rootsy master of strings. He's got a powerful voice when it clicks into fourth gear and as for his work on guitar; if it's got strings, he can play it. To me, it sounds like there was - and possibly still is - a worship of the American classics, but while he allows this to be an influence, Jeff doesn't go ruining the whole sound with a thick yank drawl; the local accent shines through enough for us to claim this music as homegrown. From the most raw folk through to the more upbeat rock-tinged numbers, Lang runs the full gamut of organic genres and Whatever Makes You Happy is a worthy contribution to the short list of truly able players that are bubbling to the surface in 2004. Initially, I was impressed with a dense sound that filled the room as The Save blasted out of my many speakers, but after Alive In There, I was starting to think that Lang's sound was bigger than any of his songs. Luckily, Rain On Troy proved his worth as a composer, aided by the guidance of his smooth vocal tones. Current Jeff Lang fans will be interested to know that a Special 2CD Limited Edition of this album comes with studio outtakes and the many fans of John Butler get extra value out of the bonus material with two live tracks recorded at the Continental in Melbourne, with Jeff, John and Angus Diggs. Jeff Lang probably has a more mature appeal than his peers, but if there was any time for a push into mainstream circles, 2004 must be the perfect opportunity and with an album like Whatever Makes You Happy, many doors are sure to open.

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Tracklisting
1 The Save
2 Switchblade
3 Alive In There
4 You Should Have Waited
5 Orange Roughie (Instrumental)
6 By Face Not Name
7 Rain On Troy
8 The Day I Got Chewing Gum Stuck In My Hair (Instrumental)
9 Rejected Novelist Fails Again
10 Accidental Seabirds (Instrumental)
11 You Tremble
12 Sleeping
13 Slip Away
14 The Road Is Not Your Only Friend
15 Whatever Makes You Happy (Instrumental)[~2~]BONUS DISC
16 1~}Studio Outtake One
17 2~}Studio Outtake Two
18 3~}Too Easy To Kill / Hellhound On My Trail

Full listing of JEFF LANG releases