Following his back-to-back stints in The Saints and Laughing Clowns—where he established an early presence in Australia’s punk and post-punk scenes, respectively—Ed Kuepper approached his solo career with no less vigour. By the time of his fifth outing on his own, he was flexing a degree of confidence that eludes many artists. His influential 1991 album Honey Steel’s Gold combines traditional songwriting with ruminative experimentation. Its distinctive vibe is clear right from the nearly 10-minute opener “King of Vice”, introducing the striking contributions of The Necks pianist Chris Abrahams in the process. Several songs kick off with lengthy instrumental stretches that give away to ever-evolving structures—observe the bouts of wet cyclical jamming on both the title track and the shape-shifting “Friday’s Blue Cheer / Libertines of Oxley” (complete with a frisky riff on the Bo Diddley beat). Yet those headier forays sit nicely next to some of Kuepper’s most accessible turns in the romantic ballad “Everything I’ve Got Belongs to You” and the bluesy “The Way I Made You Feel”. A constant sense of exploration animates this album, challenging Kuepper’s peers to follow suit.