Melburnians Oh Mercy have got a fan in Paul Kelly. The genius elder statesman/poet/musician/writer has said that this group of artists inspire him to continue writing. And with respect to their sophomore album, Great Barrier Grief he said it’s like “sailing on a beautiful boat on a calm blue sea under a cloudless sky. Only there’s a shadow moving under the water. Something dark and hidden ready to strip the flesh from your bones before they wash to the shore”.

Oh Mercy gained significant momentum when they won the Red Bull Award for Outstanding Potential at the Australian Music Prizes for their debut, Privileged Woes. Over the years they’ve received comparisons to Augie March and The Shins thanks to their ability to produce timeless-sounding, clever folk rock music. The puntastic-named Great Barrier Grief builds upon these solid foundations while also hinting at other musical greats, namely The Triffids and The Go-Betweens. It seems that Oh Mercy revel in being quintessentially Australian and tugging at our heartstrings.

Another “Aussie” group worthy of comparison to this band is Crowded House. The young Melburnians toured with the Crowdies last year and frontman Alexander Gow seems to possess the same ability as Neil Finn in crafting melodic love songs. Plus, Mitchell Froom, the man responsible for producing Crowded House’s stellar debut effort among other things, produced this album. In short, it was a musical match made in heaven.

Gow has said the record as a whole, is about overcoming complexity, the challenge when you meet someone new only to realise there are mental or physical barriers preventing a relationship from burgeoning or progressing. But the songwriting also contains tales of the journeyman like in the start-stop flourish of “On The Run” where he sings in an oh-so-simple yet immensely sweet way: “I’m on the run and I want you to be my girl”.

Opening track and current live favourite “Stay, Please Stay” shows an alternative perspective. This one is written from a femme fatale’s point of view. While she may be able to hide under a cloak of fashion and mysteriousness when you peel away the layers you can’t help but avoid the honest truth – she just wants her lover to stay. Musically, it shares fragments in common with Chris Isaak’s naughtiness in “Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing,” Crowded House’s emotional “Instinct” and the sunniness of Cloud Control’s work.

Elsewhere there are stories of love and longing but there is also a dash of cheekiness underpinning some of these. In particular, in “Let Me Go” we get some Elton John-inspired piano. But then this is coupled with lyrics like: “I’m a single man, don’t f**k up my plans”. Charming.

Great Barrier Grief features wistfully soft vocals and is essentially about smart tales of love, longing, change and life altering trips. With its pleasant and pretty, layered acoustic pop, it’s easy to see how this is destined to be a big album of 2011 and beyond. Superb.

Review score: 9/10