To watch Dan Sultan hold an audience in the palm of his hand is to see a storyteller unafraid to lay it all out there: his troubles, desires and all those tales dragged from his life onto the stage. Ever since Sultan delivered his debut album, Homemade Biscuits, in 2006 at the age of 22, music lovers from all walks of life have found a home in his ability to bare his longings and his wounds, his rich and soulful voice spilling all sorts of guts and glory over memorable rock, roots and blues hooks.
Yet, there has also long been the sense that Sultan is the baton-holder of Australia’s greatest musical potential. Though swarms of festival crowds and a collection of NIMA (Album of the Year, Song of the Year) and ARIA (Best Rock Album) awards might suggest otherwise, there’s a lingering feeling that Sultan’s boundless talent and gift for storytelling have been building, striving to be truly realised by the man who contains them. Even as 2014’s Blackbird album cracked the top five of the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold, many were talking about what might come next.
On Killer, Sultan steps out as the songwriter he has always promised to become. From the erupting gospel chorus of first single ‘Hold It Together’ to the jazz-inflected lilt of ‘Should’ve Known’ and the classic FM pop nous of ‘Reaction’, Sultan’s fourth studio album makes itself known as the record on which Dan Sultan becomes that rarest of things: his own musician. By the time Killer reaches its closing track, ‘Easier Man’, Sultan delivering a painfully honest reflection on how his inner demons have played out, nothing short of a national treasure is unveiled.
“It’s been a long process to make this album, looking back on it all,” Sultan says. “I’ve spent a long time working on this record. With the writing, it was all about evolving. I wasn’t even necessarily thinking about the album as such, I was just writing for the sake of writing, and the album made itself known over time.”
To say that Killer is not only a portrait of a songwriter at a crucial moment in his craft and in his life, but also a portrait of a country at this moment in time, is not a bridge too far. Sultan’s fourth album is personal and far-reaching, a reflection on his life and a call for all our lives to pull closer together. It’s also an exciting and hook-filled journey of a record, one that urges us to look at who Dan Sultan is, right here, right now.
Each intimate and acoustic performance of his current tour will see Sultan re-imagining all of his most recent release, the stirring ARIA #5 debuting, critically acclaimed Killer (out now via Liberation Records), including singles ‘Hold It Together, ‘Kingdom’, ‘Magnetic’ and fan-favourites ‘Cul-de-sac’ and ‘Reaction’. In addition fans will be treated to a handful of classics from his decade-long back catalog (expect hits from Blackbird, Dirty Ground, Get Out While You Can and Homemade Biscuits)
Don’t miss this one -The Dan Sultan Killer Solo Tour
When: Friday 15 June, 8pm
Where: The J, 60 Noosa Drive, Noosa Junction.
Price: $43
Book: www.thej.com.au or phone 5329 6560
