How does one explain the unexplainable? The thoughts and feelings we can’t put into words. The daily experiences we have that are either internalised or used as an interpretation of our outside environment? Some cope with our daily existence through drugs or sex, others through art and music. Jim Moynihan of Spoonbill definitely fits into the latter category. His latest album, ‘Nestegg’, is a product of his own world, of his own mind, and in certain way, a product of Australian mentality. A lot of people over the years have tried to capture a true spirit of Australia. Those that do succeed usually end up as Qantas ads, or on constant rotation in local pubs. Although this might not be the case for Spoonbill (at least not in the near future), his music has a distinctly Australian flavour, filled with larrikinism, love and the smell of lavender, all set under beats as warm as a BBQ under a summery dusk sky.

A deep breathy male voice greets us on the opener ‘Low and Easy’, with words like soft, cosy, warm and thick almost like a premonition or description of the textures of the album. The song is filled with frenetic beats over reggae guitar riffs that sound as if Barry White got lost in a pastry shop after a night of heavy drinking in Byron. I could use many more euphemisms throughout this review, but a lot of the song titles seem to take care of that job. ‘Rubber Squeegy’ is a perfect description of the madness that goes into this cut and paste jumble. Filled with short, swaying, stabby keyboards, scratchy records and a totally ridiculous sample of a couple wanting to talk about things “Over a Coffee and a Bun”.

It’s the samples on the album that give it, its particular charm. Some seem to be plucked from obscure Australian sixties game shows (‘Cocoon Part 3’), while others are just Jim and mates mucking around. It’s as if he’s taken every aspect of Australian culture, cut it up and crudely taped it back together in order to show us what we really are. In spite of all this, ‘Nestegg’ does incorporate a lot of world influences, incorporating a lot of dub, down beat electronica and even a bit of flamenco into the mix. Jim has managed to surround himself with a wealth of talent for the album, from the various musicians who played, to the albums artwork, the result was an output that was both chaotic as it was beautiful.

It is this chaoticness that makes ‘Nestegg’ hard to define. It’s obvious that Spoonbill does not want to be pigeonholed with this album, or on any of his music. Many artists complain about the stresses of being categorised, but continue to churn out the same music over and over again. Where Spoonbill will take his music next, one can only guess, one thing for certain, it will sounds like nothing else that out there.