Eternal Nightcap

by Jonathan LewisThe album that helped The Whitlams find more than just a cult audience, Eternal Nightcap was full of gentle, well-crafted, piano-driven pop songs. Exploring two major themes; the accidental death of vocalist Stevie Plunder in 1996 (expressed in the sad, beautiful "Charlie" trilogy), and the strain of a long-distance relationship, Eternal Nightcap became a surprise hit for the band in Australia in 1998. The album opens with "No Aphrodisiac", the first single from the album and one of its finest moments. "No Aphrodisiac" is fairly representative of the mood of gentle introspection on the album, although there is enough variation with tracks like "You Sound Like Louis Burdett", a cover of Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue" and the Pogues-inspired "Band on Every Corner" to avoid Eternal Nightcap from becoming bogged down.