Two years after their last studio album "Why That Doesn't Surprise Me" won the hearts of pop lovers and critics around the world, The Lucksmiths return with "Naturaliste". The highly anticipated new record confirms the reputation of this Melbourne band, offering eleven examples of instantly memorable indie pop music to win you all over again.

All The Lucksmiths' hallmarks are here - an ear for melody, an eye for detail and a way with words. And again all three members contribute songs. But stepping away from the increasing orchestration of their recent work, the guitar-based "Naturaliste" demonstrates a sensibility of understatement and restraint that allows these songs to shine. This is at once The Lucksmiths' most assured and cohesive work so far, from the effortless guitar jangle of "Take This Lying Down" and opener "Camera-Shy" to the gentle yearnings of "The Perfect Crime" and "What You'll Miss"; from the late-night melancholy of "Stayaway Stars" and "What Passes For Silence" to the sunny melody of "Midweek Midmorning", their single of late last year praised as "a fragile gem", "the kind of pop moment that will remind you why you fell in love with music in the first place".

"Naturaliste" continues The Lucksmiths' collaboration with producer Craig Pilkington, who contributed brass arrangements and shared lead guitar duties with bass player Mark Monnone. As you'd expect with such popular fellows, other friends dropped into Richmond's Audrey Studios: Eva Sommerfeld (The Foots) lends her voice to the mesmeric "The Sandringham Line", and transpacific tourmates The Salteens lend theirs to "Stayaway Stars".

The Lucksmiths' fifth studio album in a decade is also their finest hour. "Naturaliste" represents reassurance that pop music can be affecting rather than affected, and further evidence, were it needed, of why "if there is to be a way back to world domination for melodic intelligent pop . The Lucksmiths are likely to be in the vanguard."

At the beginning of 1988 the NME predicted that The Siddeleys would join the big league and become one of the major events of the future. Sadly, despite the fierce adoration of a legion of fans and affirmations from the press, the story was over at the end of the first chapter. All that remained for Siddeleys fans was the hope of finding a spare copy of one of their two insanely rare singles–sometimes fetching upwards of £50 each–and the memory of two John Peel sessions.

Slum Clearance collects sixteen songs from the singles, Peel sessions, and two compilation appearances in one beautiful historical artefact complete with photos and extensive liner notes. The sadness of listening to Slum Clearance comes not from the poignant verses that are actually as uplifting as they are melancholic, but from the knowledge that what could have followed such supreme beginnings will never be known.