Amateur Childbirth is Brisbane based songwriter Ivan Matthew Hicks, and his new record is named after the fictional city in classic FPS video game Stalker the Ukrainian town devastated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. He released a debut LP in 2010 called Brighter Future Dialysis, and this new record comes courtesy of Disembraining Machine. His label evocatively describes this record as “an eleven-part atonal poem to the desecration of he hallowed halls in Eastern Europe by UFO cults, a soliloquy to the radiation blossoming in clouds from its broken windows as the populace flee down ropes.”

It’s a bit disconcerting how direct and… undecorative Amateur Childbirth is. I remember struggling with his earlier release, but this time around he’s caught me in a more receptive mood. Hicks’ spiraling lyrics colour the otherwise dry acoustic belting, and if you pay attention you’ll notice that his words are worth the effort. From a sound point of view, probably the best way to sell this is: if you’re after a more straightforward Alistair Galbraith, you’ll probably dig this.