Rhinestones

Back in the early aughts, when most Melbourne bands were making party-rock anthems, HTRK (that’s “hate rock”) were the cool kids in the corner, with icy post-punk jams that might soundtrack an evening at the *Twin Peaks* Roadhouse. The band’s seen its share of loss in the years since, including the death of founding member Sean Stewart in 2010. But the duo wears its sorrows elegantly on *Rhinestones*, an album that refracts its gothic country inspirations through a blurred prism. “Kiss Kiss and Rhinestones” is Western folk at its most windswept and dreamy, whispered poetry over reverb-drowned acoustic guitar, like a fever dream set in the Wild West.

Over the past decade, the Melbourne group’s music has grown lighter, gentler, and more inviting with every release. Here, they trade their minimal-wave roots for unexpected forays into gothic country.