- I'm not one to beat around the bush, I've had a major musical crush on Melbourne four piece The Stevens since I wrapped my ears around their debut, self-titled cassette five years ago. At the time I had just started delving into Australia and New Zealand's rich, but understated catalogue of lo-fi, offbeat indie-pop music, music that, for the most part, had passed me by during my formative years that mostly leaned towards American slacker rock and the like. There was simply something about The Stevens that made me reconsider "indie" and "pop" as perhaps not being dirty words after all.

Seemingly Chapter Music head honcho Guy Blackman had similar feelings about The Stevens, quickly signing and re-releasing that debut EP on his roster of artists that also featured a wealth of Australia's upper echelon of talent, including Minimum Chips, Primitive Calculators, Twerps and Dick Diver to name but a few. A year-and-a-half later saw The Stevens release their epic, twenty-four track, full-length, A History Of Hygiene: a gorgeous, sprawling record that took everything that was so intriguing and exciting about the group's earliest recordings, and extrapolated each element to jangly, indie-pop perfection.

Approaching three long years of patiently waiting, follow-up and sophomore full-length Good is just about ready to be released upon the world and I for one have been feverishly champing at the bit to delve deep into the next instalment of the musical adventures of The Stevens. After time spent touring overseas spreading the good word that Australians and their music aren't just an amalgamation of tropes and stereotypes, The Stevens have pieced together a record that not only continues their short legacy of excellence, but adds subtle new elements that take their brand of scratchy, jangly pop to another level.

On Good, The Stevens take their gloriously ramshackle approach to bedroom pop and add touches of psychedelic rock and prog to their arsenal. As always they encompass that timeless, glorious lo-fi Flying Nun sound (thanks in part to the return of legendary Tex Houston on mastering duties) whilst harnessing some of thoseb shambolic, joyous, slacker vibes reminiscent of early Pavement and Guided By Voices records, coming together like the perfect musical storm. The Stevens, a group that truly touch on so many different elements without ever leaning too heavily on any one ingredient outside of their uncanny knack for exceptional songcraft.

The Stevens have always seemed like something better, a musical entity operating on their own playing field, in a league of their own. With their second full-length Good, The Stevens have been far too modest and down to Earth. Good is downright great, and will surely remain one of the best Australian releases of the year: an understated classic ready to percolate in whimsical and downtrodden souls across the globe.

- Jay Edwards.