★★★

Sydney boy Alex Lloyd meanders between the despondent passion that marked his earlier work and a more mature calmness in this acoustic exploration of his greatest hits.

A bit of a mixed bag, Acoustica pays tribute to the 16-year evolution of Lloyd from underground favourite to ARIA Award-winner. The compilation opens with ‘Amazing’, arguably Lloyd’s best-known song, from his second album Watching Angels Mend. This version lacks the soaring climax and epic strings that defined the original, yet it boasts an intimate, understated and sweeter sound.

There are moments where Acoustica wavers on being cliché; the cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ puts a dent in the album’s originality where a lesser-known favourite could have been a better fit. Nonetheless, songs like ‘Never Meant To Fail’ and ‘Black The Sun’ induce shivers when stripped bare.

Some Lloyd fans from way back when will despair that the choirboy with the angel’s voice has turned his music into what sometimes resembles a B-grade coffee shop soundtrack. Others will love the subtlety Acoustica brings to old favourites and embrace the nostalgia.

While it won’t win him any new fans, Acoustica is an easy listen that ebbs and flows through some of Lloyd’s most loved melodies.

Alex Lloyd’sAcousticais out now through Liberation.

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