Little Georgia is an Australian duo comprised of Justin Carter and Ashleigh Mannix, and their sound comprises elements of folk, rock and some country. In searching for the right adjectives to describe their new album, All the While, the one that keeps coming up is ‘addictive’. ‘Hypnotic’ is also applicable, and not because the sound loops around but because there’s a beat and drive behind it that is both compelling and soothing.
Great music always requires a degree of alchemy – with eight notes in an octave, there has to be something indefinable that makes one song, one sound, different to another. In the case of Little Georgia, the alchemy is in the combination of Mannix and Carter. While singing alone they are perfectly find and dandy – more than that, even – but together there is magic. They’ve spent three years on the road, playing together around the world, so it’s likely not magic but solid work that has resulted in the ten wonderful songs on this album. It’s too easily, actually, to say that artists are ‘talented’ and ascribe their achievements to that – every time there is a production of high quality, it’s talent that’s brought them to a certain point but it’s always the work that takes them most of the way.
All the While also benefits from the familiarity that is clearly between the two members of the band. Mannix and Carter know each other’s musical nooks and crannies well, which means they can push and pull the other into interesting and curious musical places. It makes for nicely complex songs with rich texture, plenty of emotion and lots of great detail. That’s what makes them addictive: with each listening there’s always the sense that there’s more to find, so you’ll return, and find more, and know there’s still more. What a lovely gift to offer listeners, and what a great foundation for, ideally, more recorded music to come.
All the While is out now.
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