HTRK: Rhinestones (haunted blue vinyl) LP

HTRK, the Australian duo of Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang, walked into their 21st year on reflective terms. The duo continues to look back while moving forward, sharing news of the next reissue: the beloved 2021 album "Rhinestones". Self-released in the fall of 2021, "Rhinestones" was a revelation for HTRK, kickstarting a subtle resurgence for the Melbourne group and showing them at the top of their powers. Marked by a new infatuation with "eerie and gothic country music", "Rhinestones" is an elegant nine-song suite of windswept emotion and heartbreak noir, crafted in skeletal arrangements of guitar, voice, metronomes, and FX. From whispered lament to acoustic eulogy to downtempo vignettes, the album took cues from the economy and brevity of Western folk but skewed through a narcotic, nocturnal lens.