Great Australian Albums 2 - Powderfinger: Odyssey Number Five

Powderfinger released Odyssey #5 in 2000. The Brisbane group had formed in the late 1980s, on the fringe of the alternative rock scene. Powderfinger took their name form a Neil Young song and they replicated Young?s style of classic rock with an edge. The group had no image in the sense that they weren?t aligned to any particular fashion or tribe. They were modest interview subjects and generally projected an anti-style. For these reasons, little had been expected of the group in their early days and their first album was not a major commercial success. However, their uniquely laid-back Australianness contributed to their future success.

For the fourth album, Odyssey #5 the group was grappling with the pressure of their own success and the effect that it had had on their lives.

The challenge for Powderfinger as a group was to survive the increasingly confined world of alternative rock and connect with the suburban kids. The songs on the record reflect their growing maturity as musicians as they address issues that are both intensely personal and political.