It's difficult to quantify the style and genre of music that Australian band Hyske trade in. Goth? Dark indie rock? Doom folk? Shameless Cure ripoff? Each description would apply in its own way, but on their debut album "Luna", Hyske prove that they have enough depth to their sound to avoid being easily pigeonholed.

So, how to describe their music, if not in a three word genre name? Well, this album contains a lot of textured guitar work, lots of minor chord progressions, and female vocals. It's these female vocals that jumped out and grabbed me the most; singer Saara's vocals are extremely distinctive, enough so that they become the central feature of the band. She is orthodox enough that she doesn't sound jarring or annoying, yet she's also versatile enough to give a little muscle to some songs, as on Gypsy, where she goes from sounding like Katie Noonan to Katie Jane Garside within the space of about thirty seconds.

Similar songs are also wisely built around her vocal abilities. Universe Inside manages to channel the whole Australian alt rock scene pretty well, courtesy of a chainsaw guitar riff that opens the song, only to drop into a verse that sounds just like it could have come out of the golden age of Australian alt-rock in the 90s. Apathy on the other hand uses a brooding bass line and contrasts that against some soaring vocals on the chorus. It's all tremendously well done, and even though it doesn't break down any barriers, by paying attention to the fundamentals, Hyske have created a really quality song that works its way into your head.

There's nothing on "Luna" that's revelatory or surprising enough to justify jumping up and proclaiming Hyske to be the next saviours of rock and roll, but at the same time this is a very impressive debut effort, and it marks Hyske as a band that is well worth watching in the future. Fans of bands like Jute, PJ Harvey, and yes, even The Cure during their dark early 80s phase could do worse than to check this out.