Hello Me To You (2009 Album)

"Australian multi-instrumentalist Victor Stranges has arrived. Take note, my fellow music lover, Stranges is going to have something say in the coming years. Like the humming of a well-worn turntable or the buzz from a magical amp, Stranges' songs feel familiar yet fresh, comforting yet ready to explode with new information. His melodic pop transmissions flow from the center of the galaxy, circle the planets and hover like shadows in the four corners of your mind. All of gentle, sweeping harmonies here are tender and accent each corner of every note. The immediate touchstone, hard to miss, is the horn-rimmed sophistication of Elvis Costello but he reminds me of Willy DeVille other areas but, yes, Costello is the elephant in Stranges' room and I find no fault as these songs sink deeper and deeper into each listen.

While some may be off-put with the Costello histrionics, you either are down with the program here or you are not. I am trusting fans of intensely high-crafted songs from an artist in command of his wits and talent will win you over as it has me. Wow, the talent Victor Stranges possesses is immense and I can`t wait for his next exploration. A Winner!"

BRUCE BRODEEN
(Not Lame Recordings, U.S.A.)
MARCH 2010


4.5 Stars
Pop/Rock Greatness

“Australia has given the music world AC/DC, Icehouse, Men At Work, Midnight Oil, Crowded House, and INXS amongst others. If there is any justice in the world, Victor Stranges will be amongst those great names in terms of recognition and accomplishment. Stranges’ 2009 album Hello Me To You is a piece of Pop/Rock near-perfection. There's very little here that Stranges doesn't do well; a striking accomplishment considering that the album is almost entirely written, produced, and performed by himself… there’s no doubt that Hello Me To You is one of the best examples of how enjoyable and well done Pop/Rock can be.”

HEATH ANDREWS
(Review You, U.S.A.)
NOVEMBER 2009


“The shovel that Victor holds on the cover of his album is the very one I think he used to dig up an absolute nugget of a tune with Hello Me To You, and boy did he tap into a wonderfully rich vein of instantly contagious garage/pop! If you're not singing the chorus after one spin...you may need the shovel to strike yourself a fatal blow!”

ROB STEWART –
(Music Director – GOVE FM - NT, AUSTRALIA)
JANUARY 2010


"Victor Stranges grew up in Melbourne in the ’80s, then a member of local punk outfit Drunk ‘N’ Disorderly who featured on many of Melbourne’s intoxicated, rowdy pub nights. One show alone featured 14 hospitalisations. He may be a lot older now, but Stranges does not seem like the kind of man to lose the love of music. In the last decade he’s released two solo LPs, the latest being Hello Me To You. Time has calmed his style somewhat, with this latest offering slower than his punk roots and featuring a more inventive rock sound that’s comparable to a cross between Okkervil River and Elvis Costello.

There is something distinctively Aussie about his album, although Stranges doesn’t have a voice like Farnsy or Barnsey. Strangely enough, he sounds more like he began as a lounge singer, pulled from a musical at a young age and indoctrinated into a punk lifestyle of hard guitars and dark clubs. His crooning on Memories is a microcosm of his style throughout the whole album. He drags the song’s name over several bars with melodic grace, once sounding nostalgic then bitter while guitars jag in and out and an old style organ wails Hold Steady style.

Hello You to Me is nicely polished, but it doesn’t have much of an anathematic quality to it. What it does have is plenty of humanity, some might even call it soul. Stranges and his backing band are all experienced musicians and lay down plenty of piano hooks and guitar solos to match Stranges’ life tales perfectly."

BRAD MCNAUGHTON
(Review - RIP IT UP MAGAZINE ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA)
APRIL 2010