Ivan Beecroft
Dirty Lie
(self-released)

We don’t hear the description “Australian retro rock/pop artist” used often, but Ivan Beecroft might just be the living embodiment of that tag. On his new album, Dirty Lie, he delivers a mix of heavy rockin’ tracks mixed with acoustic ditties, all featuring the man’s distinctive, low, masculine vocals. From the driving pair of openers, “Amnesia” and the title track, Ivan as much talks his vocals as sings. He places the higher harmonies in well, into choruses here that move along quite commercially. “Dirty Lie,” with its bed of organ and jumpy beat. “Talk to Me” slows things down, though Ivan still manages a big snare snap (he plays all the instruments here), and the guitars are picked and Ivan’s vocals are echoey-cool. “Summer Serenade,” coming as it does halfway through the album, is unlike all the rest and pretty much sets us up for the acoustic portion of the rest of Dirty Lie. Here Ivan really does a good job on this tune with flute sounds and showing off his vocal prowess. Then there’s “All That I Need,” with its almost R.E.M.-sounding roll-around harmonies and a nicely layered production. “Free” and “You” end this album. They’re two more acoustic numbers, the first utilizing that flute synth sound again. Ivan Beecroft pretty much rolls us around lights and darks, rock and acoustic on Dirty Lie and delivers solidly on both styles.