Produced by Chris Bond (Ben Howard, Tom Speight) and mixed by Tim Palmer (Pearl Jam, Bowie, U2), itвЂ™s the first time Rudd has ever handed over the reigns completely to a producer. Storm Boy marks a landmark shift in the ARIA-nominated starвЂ™s working process. вЂњIвЂ™ve had a great career of mucking around with different soundsвЂ¦ so every record you learn a little bit here and there,вЂќ says Rudd, whose new album tips its hat to his love of reggae and blues as much as it feels palpably more symphonic in sound than his previous LP, the collaborative Nanna. Hailing from AustraliaвЂ™s surf hotspot Torquay, Rudd kickstarted his career in 2002 with the now classic album To Let, before going on to release seven studio LPs over the next thirteen years: Solace (2004), Food In The Belly (2005), White Moth (2007), Dark Shades Of Blue (2008), Koonyum Sun (2010), Spirit Bird (2012), and his first album with The United Nations, Nanna (2015). I feel like IвЂ™ve come to the end of that chapter where IвЂ™ve learned a bunch of lessons and IвЂ™ve been shown a bunch of things spiritually.вЂќ вЂњLife feels strong and solid for me nowвЂ¦ and this record is in a different space. And if Spirit Bird signalled the beginning of his spiritual self-awakening, Storm Boy arrives at the conclusion.

вЂњItвЂ™s definitely a theme on the record,вЂќ agrees Rudd. Storm Boy tracks the last five or six years of his journey, his вЂњawakeningвЂќ and of all the things that вЂњhave made senseвЂќ along the way. Six years have passed since RuddвЂ™s last solo release, Spirit Bird, and a lot of things have happened in that time. ItвЂ™s a line where RuddвЂ™s spirituality really comes to the fore: вЂњKookaburra calls just like he knows / And I call a ride back yes IвЂ™m home / HeвЂ™s been with me heвЂ™s watched me grow / Through those rainy days and those rocky roads.вЂќ One specific moment seems to sum up the record for Rudd, an album which he describes as вЂњponderingвЂќ and вЂњmore personalвЂќ than previous efforts. In the picture-perfect video for вЂWalk AwayвЂ™, Rudd is captured swimming in lakes, catching the surf and strumming his guitar, while booming bass drums amp up the trackвЂ™s near-transcendent quality. ItвЂ™s just one of many highlights on a record that celebrates strength and stability at their most powerful and fundamental. Backed by the gentle strum of acoustic guitar, on вЂStorm BoyвЂ™, Rudd sends out a postcard of a sun-drenched life lived outdoors: вЂњFreedom of the heart is what we crave / When we sit by the river with a cup of tea / Watch the movement of the tide in the gentle breeze,вЂќ he sings, in his comfort-blanket voice. The Australian multi-instrumentalistвЂ™s new album title track best encapsulates this idea.

The result is a personal sound that strikes a universal note. Environmental work, activism, veganism, spiritualism, surfing, family camping trips in the bush and dog walks on the beach everything Rudd does, he pours into song. вЂњIвЂ™m literally just singing about the things that are going on around me,вЂќ he says of his sublime and soaring indie-folk. The journey on 'Storm Boy' has plenty of captivating tunes and if sometimes it feels a tad long as the 13 songs stream by, Rudd's personality and musicianship make for amiable travelling companions.For Xavier Rudd, writing music and living his life are one and the same. Rudd has the ability to integrate each of the songs into a single flow, like a river winding through varied landscapes. 'Best That I Can' mentions Mother Teresa and current affairs and 'Times Like These' waxes philosophical: 'I believe we can breathe in the magic of our Earth/And I believe we can exhale anything we feel we didn't deserve.' Opener 'Walk Away' has a prime example of the soaring chorus, while 'Fly Me High' is about being in Peru, a vision of his future wife and a butterfly sitting on his feet while in the Amazon rainforest. At his best, he sounds a little like Tim Finn. Musically, Rudd fits effortlessly into the contemporary singer-songwriter vernacular - some acoustic sounds, some strings, some reggae beats, plenty of soaring choruses. Rudd's 'Storm Boy' is not a soundtrack to the eponymous film but, except for some deeply personal and romantic songs, its themes seem to match - the environment, self-knowledge and self-belief, materialism, links between history and now, reconciliation, the joys of living and the twists of fate. Percival, a winged and feathered co-star of 'Storm Boy,' a 1976 film about a young boy's adventures in an isolated region of Australia, including his friendship with an Aboriginal man and the learning of some of life's unavoidable lessons. The title track of Xavier Rudd's latest album was inspired by a pelican he saw while sitting by a river sipping tea.

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