Policestate

Very smart clean vinyl with a good strong cover signed by Luke.

A competent songwriter and talented acoustic guitarist, Luke Hurley must be New Zealand's most well-known busker. His guitar playing is intricate and absorbing, strongly reminiscent of Ian Anderson in the acoustic-folk tracks of early-70's Jethro Tull.

Had Hurley developed his craft in a more populous environment he might now be ranked alongside such established urban folk artists as Loudon Wainwright or Gordon Lightfoot, who hail from similar cultures. However, being forced by circumstance to pursue his muse on the sparsely populated pavements of NZ has resulted in him becoming more of a latter-day John Prine, a kiwi Woody Guthrie even, and his songs reflect that.

And whereas relatively privileged, modern-day North American folkies tend to indulge in explorations of personal relationships, Luke Hurley can little afford such frivolous distractions, writing instead about the demands of day to day survival for himself ("Kings Cross"), and others similarly oppressed by circumstance ("Policestate").

But he celebrates his lifestyle too - when reflecting on a different kind of oppression in Douglas Wright's "Prisoner No. Nine-to-Five", he creates the impression of an individual drawing strength from adversity, rather than simply wallowing in it - Policestate is the sound of one man and his guitar against the world.