Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Pirritu, Pirritu Music 2023.
Pirritu Part 2 (Fire When The Sun Goes Down) is an excellent 10-track album from Melbourne-based Ngiyampan clan man Brett Lee and it’s a follow-up to his debut self-titled album, Pirritu Part 1, which was released in 2021.
Pirritu Part 2, Fire When The Sun Goes Down, is delicate, melodic, beautiful and dreamy.
It has integrity as Brett’s songs are about peace, love, and harmony, they are sung with passion, they are songs from the heart.
Brett was adopted by a white family when he was a baby and they encouraged him to be proud of his Aboriginality and to pursue his cultural heritage.
Of particular importance to Brett is the interactions he had with his grandfather who was a gentle and peaceful man.
Many of Brett’s songs reference the lessons that his grandfather taught him.
Pirritu is Brett’s name in his clan tongue.
The album opens with Smooth Sailing an up-tempo song about the journey of life. It exudes positivity and sets the tone for the album.
It’s followed by the equally uplifting Rescued a Soul with its delightful horn solo.
There is some impressive musicianship on this album. Brett has surrounded himself with a tight and skilled band.
The third track, Secret Shape, is complex rhythmically and the band are particularly impressive.
Each track is built upon Brett’s acoustic guitar underpinnings. He is a skilled guitar player incorporating finger-picked and strummed techniques.
Backing vocals and snatches of cornet/trumpet add colour to the songs and the bass and drumming provides a solid grounding.
Pirritu is another indigenous artist that is commanding respect and should be heard by the wide, main-stream, music audience of our land.
He shows how deep the well of talent runs in the ever-expanding catalogue of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers we a blessed with.
