Reviews

7.9
Jun 26, 2007

Dimmer
There My Dear

Shayne Carter is a highly regarded member of New Zealand's music scene, and returns to grace our ears with the third album of his Dimmer project, There My Dear. Dimmer has risen out of the ashes of Carter's former band Straitjacket Fits, one of the more commercially successful bands to come out of the "Dunedin Sound" era.

Recorded live in a hall at his local Bowlo, Carter has scrapped the beats, loops and funk which featured heavily on his previous two albums, I Believe You Are A Star and You've Got To Hear The Music. Joined by guitarist James Duncan from SJD, bassist Kelly Steven (Punches) and drummer Dino Karlis (HDU), Dimmer has returned to the rock driven sound made famous by the Fits.

With songs like Don't Even See Me, You're Only Leaving Hurt, I Won't Let You Break My Heart Again and What's A Few Tears To The Ocean, it's obvious that Carter had his heart broken by a former lover. But it's refreshing to hear lyrics about heartbreak and sorrow, especially after Dimmer's first album featured a song about masturbation.

Highly reflective and moody, There My Dear should appeal to a wide demographic, and shouldn't alienate Straitjacket Fits fans like previous Dimmer albums have. Currently only an import, There My Dear has received glowing reviews in New Zealand, and hopefully Carter and his project will receive the recognition they deserve in Australia.

Words by Andrew.

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