Hydroplane – Selected Songs 1997 – 2003 (2xLP, Orange Vinyl)

Hydroplane's Selected Songs 1997-2003 gathers the key recordings from a Melbourne trio that emerged when The Cat's Miaow's drummer moved to London in the mid 1990s, pushing Kerrie Bolton, Bart Cummings and Andrew Withycombe toward a more expansive sound. Instead of the earlier band's compact indie-pop minimalism, Hydroplane opened their songs out into loops, drones, shuffle beats and synth textures, while keeping the same gift for fragile, elegant melody. That shift mattered: "We Crossed The Atlantic," their cover of Pip Proud, became a John Peel favourite and reached No. 13 in his 1997 Festive 50.

Across material drawn from singles and albums released during a roughly half-decade run, this compilation shows how naturally Hydroplane connected jangly melancholy with dream-pop haze, gentle electronics and a touch of club-informed rhythm. "The Love You Bring" is a good example of that balance, with drifting tones set against dancefloor motion, while "City Terminus" catches their knack for turning emotional understatement into something quietly memorable. There is a real sense here of late-90s indie discovering new space, where DIY pop, ambient texture and understated experimentation could coexist.

As a portrait of the band, Selected Songs 1997-2003 also helps place Hydroplane within a wider Melbourne circle that included The Cat's Miaow and The Shapiros, a scene now being documented more fully by World Of Echo. For anyone curious about the softer, more exploratory edges of Australian indie-pop in that period, this is a generous and revealing entry point.

Features

• 2xLP, Orange Vinyl