Ziggy Alberts – A Postcard From An Australian Summer
(CommonFolk Records)
Reviewed by Tim Gruar.
This wee EP is a fan’s collection – grafted from live performances in rooms of all shapes and sizes across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Europe, North America, South Africa and South America. Mainly just a boy and his guitar, backed by the voices of his adoring crowds, you can’t help drawing parallels with Xavier Rudd and Ed Sheeran – and that’s a good thing!
Australia’s own self-made Triple-J indie sensation, Ziggy Alberts was born and raised on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. He was a bit of a hippy home schooled protégé – initially destined for dentistry school, he soon changed course after receiving a guitar for a graduation gift. Moving from street busker to pro-musician in 2012 he released his first self-released EP titled ‘Feels Like Home’ and then co-founded his own record label Commonfolk Records. In October 2013 he put out his first studio album ‘Made of Water’, followed not long after by his second studio album ‘Land & Sea’ in December 2014.
In 2017 Alberts toured 11 European countries as part of the Tell Me European Tour and played 28 headline dates across Europe and the United Kingdom, selling out many shows including in Brixton, Amsterdam, Zurich, Stockholm and hometown Brisbane. Much of this ep is from those gigs. You can hear the absolute joy of the crowd who embrace the recent single, 2019 APRA Song of the Year ‘Love Me Now’, from last year’s release ‘Laps Around The Sun’, along with the magnetic earworm Yu (a Song For Koda), which he starts with a brief admission of nervousness. Both are carried away by Alberts’ simple guitar thumping and strumming which reminds me a lot of Passenger and Sheeran’s playing styles.
You can hear (what I imagine to be) his mainly female audience squealing and chirping along to every line, almost drowning him out in places. That mood intensifies for his earlier ‘singer Gone (Pocahontas Song)’. Obviously everyone knows this off by heart, so he gives the mic over for the chorus and they finish the song a Capella before the big bang crescendo finale. I can’t help drawing the comparisons with the first time I saw Ed Sheeran do Galway Girl live. That elation of an infatuated room singing at the tops of their voices in perfect harmony is intoxicating. Top marks to Alberts’ engineer for capturing that vibe so well.
There is no denying that this wee collection is a pure and simple feelgood ‘thank-you’ letter to his supporters, who’ve racked up a huge number of plays on Spotify and umpteen other media channels. Alberts’ honey sweet vocals work well in this simple troubadour setting, although there’s definitely scope for a big band somewhere in his future. He’s only in his early 20’s so plenty of time for that.
It also seems he’s an empathetic soul. The ep includes a short ‘interlude’: “Let’s get some quality back in our communication”, Alberts encourages his Brisbane show and goes on to discusses suicide rates, mental health and social media implications. It’s a humble message for his young fans. It also reminds me how much we have in common with Australia at times. The other sing-a-long is ‘Heaven’, which popped up on the last album and yes – it’s another winner. A slower but dedicated love song with the best compliment a partner could ever get: “I watched you get undressed, my jaw dropped to the floor…I might have to come down and steal you away.” There’s no denying this is an outright declaration of FOMO. If you missed this guy you really missed out! To be honest, I’d never heard of Ziggy Alberts before now but that won’t stop me following his future now that I’ve had a taste. Pure, genuine, charming and a sweet soulful indie singer-song writer. Let’s hope he comes back soon – this time I’ll be ready.
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by clicking the red button below (Desktop) or visiting our PressPatron page (Mobile).