As banal as this may sound, Ziggy Alberts’ music has a way of speaking to your soul. Indeed when it comes to forthright lyricism, there are few who can top him, and it’s no surprise – the man just published a collection of poems, and from a grassroots perspective he has been owning the Aussie scene for quite some time.
Enter his fifth album, searching for freedom: a neo-acoustic indie-folk dream of a project – and true to his fiercely independent form, it’s been released via his own label Commonfolk Records. Alberts’ sound is as effortlessly profound in its simplicity – the lyrics take the fore, with a healthy dose of acoustic guitar to back them up and make you move.
As a whole, it explores the human condition through multiple lenses. Love is obviously a key factor and there’s no lack of quality songs of adoration thrown into the mix. Opener “keeper” kicks things off on this very note, while standout track “chocolate” takes a swoony waltz tangent, drenched in cozy lyricism (“I need more time off / to turn you on.”)
Peppered between crooning ballads, he gets real on crippling mental effects of the current state of the world (“don’t get caught up”), banding up as a human race for the betterment of the planet (“together”), and, perhaps his most personal songs to date, “circus” is a moving ode to standing up to the obvious wrongs in society. Closer and titular track “searching for freedom” wraps things up in the vein of finding oneself.
Languidly acoustic, deeply touching and rivetingly honest in its narrative, the album serves as an apex point in Alberts’ career – a milestone of authenticity.
