When the Iron Glows Red (Jae Laffer)

AS frontman of Perth-born pop act the Panics, Jae Laffer is well regarded for his songwriting quantity and quality.

When the Iron Glows Red: Jae Laffer

AS frontman of Perth-born pop act the Panics, Jae Laffer is well regarded for his songwriting quantity and quality.

Best known for the ARIA award-winning third album, Cruel Guards, and its lead single, Don't Fight It, the band has been firing since its 2003 debut album, A House on a Street in a Town I'm From.

It's unsurprising, then, that Laffer's first solo release is just as accomplished as everything that came before. These are acoustic pop songs bolstered by warm instrumentation; the enterprising Laffer plays nearly every sound heard on the album besides drums and bass, the latter being handled by his Panics bandmate Paul Otway. It's a potent chain of 10 tracks without a single weak link.

The screaming saxophone in Leaving on Time is a thrill, as is the lovely vocal duet with Angie Hart in To Mention Her. The best is saved for last, though: the chilling title track closes the album, and it's right up there with the best songs that Laffer has had a hand in.

Press materials suggest he was moved to write and record an album quickly; he desired spontaneity, to sing the words to the songs "while the ink was still wet on the page". If the man can whip up 10 winning pop songs from scratch at speed, then other writers have reason to be quaking in their boots.

That ability, coupled with his distinctive, laconic vocal style -- long central to the Panics' appeal -- results in a truly rare bird. Highly recommended.

LABEL: Dew Process
RATING: 4.5 stars