Album Notes

Songs about growing up, or trying to grow up in the face of an environment that often suggests that the mere thought of getting past your late adolescence is hoping for more than what’s actually on offer.

We fell in love with Perry Keyes on his first album, Meter. Then he follow that up with The Last Ghost Train Home, I made that one album of the year. Now that he’s out in the world for all to enjoy, it would have to be a huge effort to get his third album in a row into the Album of The Week slot. And it was a particularly easy decision. All the honesty we’ve come to expect from him, and the concern about him running out of great stories was fantastically unfounded. This fellow tells tales of Australian life that may not be familiar to all, but they are so obviously part of Australian life. His best yet. Tim Ritchie ABC Radio

He’s the Paul Kelly you’ve never heard of. And Perry Keyes’ third album shows he deserves to rank alongside Kelly and Don Walker as a great Australian songwriter. He’s the Sydney Springsteen, documenting the life and crimes of the inner-city, where “falling backwards is easy” and “some stuff just won’t wash off”. But there’s beauty amid the bleakness – check out the glorious opener, Will You Shine?, and the soulful serenade Down On The Street With You. This is the Redfern version of Born To Run, a cinematic rock ‘n’ roll epic. Keyes has crafted an Australian classic. Jeff Jenkins Music Australia Guide

His songs are like the musical equivalent of a Rowan Woods film; similar narratives and similar geographies inhabit, for example, The Boys, or Little Fish, To my mind, Keyes, is among the best of Australia's songwriters, no question. Melbourne Age

It’s a magnificent album, as much world-weary observation as soul-heavy sad reflection. There’s also enough chinks of sunlight to offer moments of hope, although you have to be eagle-eyed to spot it and lightning-fast to grab hold. A bit like life in Sydney. Dennis Atkins The Punch

Perry Keyes is the real deal. An Australian singer-songwriter who tells stories about ordinary Australians, their devils and their heroes. In a time when art has gone international, writing a song about the halcyon days of the Sydney Stadium and the people who went there might not make you big in New York, but sitting here in Oz, by god it's good. Mark Bannerman ABC The Drum

First off I can't say enough great things about Perry Keyes' Johnny Ray's Downtown. What a great record, I've been listening to it everyday lately. Man that guy is good. Sure feel lucky to have gotten to play with him and glad he could make the gig in Sydney. If you see him around tell him how great I think that record is. Will Vlautin