About

Nick Murphy has had a peculiar existence since bursting on to the scene as Chet Faker working alongside Flume with his moody indie pop winning over a huge alt audience, before a back-and-forth of moniker shifts lost a few along the way.

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Returning to his Chet Faker project in October 2020, Murphy has released his first album since the switch titled Hotel Surrender which is a 10-track reminiscent of his 2014 debut Built On Glass.

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The charm of Chet Faker always has been the mix of sway-inducing funky and bass laden tunes, combined with Murphy’s dry, effortless and perceptively unimpressed tone. The defiant lyrics and dry and brusque vocals of single ‘Whatever Tomorrow’ underline that. 

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Hotel Surrender offers plenty of that charm, albeit at a slow pace which arguably lets the album down. Some high points are the carefree ‘Get High’, uber cool ‘Whatever Tomorrow’, sexy and swaggy ‘Feel Good’ and under-rated sixth track ‘Peace Of Mind’. – The AU Review