Diesel and Dust

That was a way more fun Australian rock

I only knew this band through the first song, Beds Are Burning, which is an incredible song and also foreshadows what this album is about: great pop hooks, jangly U2-esque alt rock, and very blunt commentary on aboriginal Australian civil rights.

Talking about societal and political issues is tough, you have to tread a fine line between getting the point across and not making the song feel like a lecture. I think Midnight Oil do a great job of this, their style of lyricism is very confrontational on white Australia's treatment of the natives, but it's balanced out by the aforementioned pop hooks, to a point where you can listen to a song about civilians being nuked and jam along to it. You could argue that this dilutes the songs meanings a bit, but I think the combination highlights how serious the problems are without it feeling preachy. There's also some environmental issues in these songs that are generally tied to aboriginal rights, such as in The Dead Heart, and again they pull it off well.

The U2 comparisons are hard to ignore, personally I preferred this to any U2 album in the main list, but U2 were so big that everyone tried to copy their homework. Midnight Oil are more pop oriented, and their social commentary does set them apart from the crowd. U2 (especially Bono) always seemed a pompous twat when talking about social issues, I don't feel like that towards Midnight Oil, these guys just seem genuinely passionate about their message.

Should it be in the main list: Yes, it's a great example of early alt rock, Australian pop music, and civil rights messages that aren't based on UK/US issues.

Top 3 songs: Beds Are Burning, Warakurna, The Dead Heart

One medium hit, plenty of filler