The Boat People have always suffered from being from a town, Brisbane, that is not well-known for its pop bands – the Go-Betweens notwithstanding. Hence, The Boat People have found it hard to win the support their songwriting deserves, despite penning one of the finest Australian pop singles of recent years, the Q Song Award-winning ‘Unsettle my Heart’. Even so, they've quietly racked up a string of other prizes, a loyal following and plenty of praise from the critics, all without quite breaking through.

Perhaps that's why Chandeliers is such a satisfying album. The Boat People's key songwriters Robin Waters and James O'Brien have always had a good line in quirky pop gems, but Chandeliers sees them transcend their cutesy-ness and reach for something fuller and more accomplished. What emerges is a genuinely great Australian pop album that can comfortably stand alongside acknowledged classics like Woodface, Granddance or 16 Lover's Lane – each of which, it can be argued, this album draws inspiration from.

Chandeliers also has the additional assistance of J. Walker (Machine Translations) as producer, who has polished and burnished these songs to a fine sheen, without going overboard on the studio wizardry. In particular, he has coaxed a superb timbre from Waters' voice, which has matured and grown from its former occasional brittleness.

What about the songs? There's a lot to recommend. The single, ‘Awkward Orchid Orchard’, has a trademark Boaties feel, with soaring three-part male harmonies and a hook that recalls the best work of The Apples in Stereo, Of Montreal or The Shins. ‘Born in the 80's’ is a bouncy up-tempo number that feels like a summer afternoon spent listening to The Smiths, while ‘Hours n Hours’ is a lyrical love song. The final track, ‘Millagri’, is one of the album’s best, with an alt-country feel that will gladden the hearts of Wowee Zowee-era Pavement fans.

It's been a hard slog for The Boat People, but this sophomore album shows it has clearly been worth it. Crisply produced and wonderfully written and arranged, Chandeliers is superb, mature pop music, as good as anything you'll hear in this genre this year. International recognition beckons.

by Ben Eltham