Latest CD releases reviewed

Born Sandy Devotion Domino ****

Along with The Go-Betweens, The Triffids were one of Australia's great '80s guitar bands. Both were commercially moribund but critically acclaimed, offering some of the finest alt.rock of the decade. Born Sandy Devotion, The Triffids' second full-length studio album, was recorded in London but is filled with parched images of the late David McComb's rural Australia; landscapes that are reflected in songs of isolation, love and despair. It's an album of shifting moods; the epic Wide Open Road suggests freedom, and Lonely Stretch is all claustrophobic blues. Dramatic and tender, the tracks are dotted with "Evil" Graham Lee's pedal steel, melodic vibraphone and keyboards. Twenty years after its release, Born Sandy Devotional is a time capsule of musical gold, even more so because this re-issue contains nine bonus tracks of B-sides and demos. www.thetriffids.com Sinéad Gleeson