Powderfinger
Odyssey Number Five
(Universal Records)

Australia never sounded so good.

The outback natives, Powderfinger, who have had their last two albums “Double Allergic” and “Internationalist” reach triple-platinum and quadruple platinum status in their homeland respectively, are coming to America.

Its most recent album is a mesmerizing piece of work blanketed with soft vocals and whiny guitars. It, too, has already gone platinum in Australia - five times.

And while being laid-back, they don’t hesitate to rock - such as on the albums opener, the in-depth “Waiting For the Sun.”

“My Happiness,” the band’s first single, somehow manages to blend the guitar pattern of Oasis, the lyrical pattern of Coldplay and the chord progression of “The Bends”-era Radiohead. Who knows what Bono (U2) would say if he knew this band borrowed some guitar effects on this one, though.

Each song begins as a soft retreat into self-discovery and progresses into amazing rock statues to keep the listener guessing.

The band uses a horn minimally but effectively in the gently flowing “The Metre” and expose David Bowie and Iggy Pop influences on the edgier “Like A Dog,” almost reminiscent of an Alice in Chains tune at times.

The title track has a hypnotic mesh of strings but doesn’t really go anywhere. Just as the song starts to pick up energy, the next acoustic Beatle-esqe divot jumps in for some action.

“We Should Be Together Now” is a trendy grunge-influenced song with a drumbeat and bass line that sound like material off of their previous albums - a little harder, but good.

And what album by a rock band wouldn’t be complete without a song to show off the singer’s vocals? The answer is the sweet ballad “Whatever Makes You Happy.”

But if there is something the album doesn’t have a lot of, it’s variety.

The songs are all well crafted and Bernard Fanning’s voice fits to a “T” with the rest of the band, but the formula is the same for each track.

Fresh off a tour with fellow foreigners Coldplay, good things will happen to Powderfinger in the land of the free in the next couple months.