For the longest time I've been of the opinion that Australian music is overrated. Not that we don't have some very fine bands on this little continent of ours, but because a lot of the public takes the attitude that "If it's Australian, it must be good!" Unsurprisingly, this leads to a lot of garbage floating up to the surface, and the occasional good band in the mix gets drowned out in the cacophony of mediocre crud. As much as it pains me to say it, Youth Group are one of those great bands that are getting drowned out; if they were based in another country with a higher signal to noise ratio, they'd probably have a widespread, if largely underground audience. Unfortunately, as it is, they're releasing great albums like "Skeleton Jar" to a largely oblivious audience.

Which is a real shame. The band's previous album, "Urban & Eastern" oozed with potential, and "Skeleton Jar" is largely the realisation of this potential. The sunny carefree jangle-pop has largely been shown the door, as have the epic neo-prog epics. What rushes in to fill their place is some very dark, very dense, and very good indie rock. It's not as bleak, as say, Xiu Xiu, but at times vocalist Toby Martin gets there, as he spits out the lyrics in a potent and uncompromising way.

If you're not convinced that this album is darker than a box full of black holes, then take a look at the opening track, Shadow Land. What starts with some jangly guitar in the tradition of The Birds quickly sinks into a taut, dense rock song. The chorus consists entirely of the song title being repeated over and over again like a mantra, a tried and true tactic, but one that works well here. Lillian Lies is another track heavy on the melancholy, and while the lyrics sound quite ridiculous when written out onto paper, the conviction with which Martin delivers them makes them sound deadly serious.

In a few spots, the band seem to still be grappling with what they want to be. Last Quarter sounds almost like a radio-ready rocker, yet it pales in comparison to much of the rest of the album. In a few other spots, it feels like the band squanders opportunities as well, and I found myself wishing for a song a bit more lengthy and epic at some points.

Still, "Skeleton Jar" is still a finely crafted album by a band who have big ambitions, and the talent to reach them. If there is any justice in the world, this album will break its way through the smokescreen that is the Australian music scene, and find a wide audience. Albums this good just shouldn't be kept as hidden secrets by a privileged few.