Kicking off with the tribal rhythms of “Triplespoon” which carries the brilliant hookline of “It’s not my bed but I sleep in it”, iOTA kicks off his debut solo album The Hip Bone Connection in fine style. Right now, iOTA is the hottest new solo indie performer (and along with Alex Lloyd and Felicity Hunter one of the new breed of great emerging Australian singer-songwriters) going around at the moment.

From the moment “Change” from his debut self-titled EP was a hit on Triple J in 1998, it seemed that iOTA was destined for a huge future. iOTA (yes, it’s now his real name – ah, the powers of deed poll) has a knack for writing a refreshingly brilliant song, and “SCHITZO” is certainly no exception – it’s a little bit more rock and Lep Zeppish than his other material, but perhaps that’s why it’s so popular. But, it’s not, by any stretch of the imagination, the best song on The Hip Bone Connection. For instance, both songs which follow it, the more mellow “Bitter Wine” and “Time”, are far better and “Time” in particular has ‘future hit’ written all over it.

One problem – and it will depend on the listener as to whether it really is a problem or not – with The Hip Bone Connection is the density of sound. Take “Home Song” for example. The sound is thick and layered, and with iOTA’s ‘heavy’ vocals over the top, it could be intimidating for the uninitiated listener. Even the predominantly acoustic based rocker “Friends” is heavy in sound.

“Cool” is a gentle, almost sea-breezy track, and the listener can literally hear the strings being plucked. It’s a simply beautiful song, and iOTA’s amazing voice is perfectly suited to such gently contemplative number. Nik Downing literally owns the following track “Kleen”. His amazing drumming on this song provides a great rush and makes the song an absolute speed-trip to cleanliness. “Sea Bed” has an almost grungy feel to it, with a huge bottom end making it sound like a Soundgarden out-take.

And here, an interesting point is raised. The similarity between Chris Cornell and iOTA’s voice is remarkable. Before listening to “Sea Bed” I’d never really picked up on it, but is seems appropriate. It will be interesting to see if Cornell’s debut solo album is as good as The Hip Bone Connection – I sincerely doubt it!

The Hip Bone Connection is rounded off in fine style by four very different songs. “Don’t Come Back” is similar in some ways to “Cool” in that it’s got a sort of gentle sea-breeze to it before exploding into a chorus. (Ah, the familiar slow-verse/fast-chorus routine! How unique!) “Beautiful Fool” uses a similar approach to an Alex Lloyd track – the Prosystems Tools effect is in full use. “Gods Eye” is more of a rock tune (although one which uses a violin/orchestra sound as a separate instrument and not just as an accompanying instrument), whereas final track “Sleep” again employs the simple approach of a man and his acoustic guitar before the rest of the band kicks in. Simply beautiful stuff.

iOTA is always going to be compared to Jeff Buckley, and unfairly so. His vocal stylings are more akin to Tim Buckley, with a touch of Chris Cornell/Soundgarden in the heavier numbers. With the new breed of solo singer-songwriter artists emerging in Australia at the moment that Paul Kelly finally has some competition for his yearly ARIA for male solo artist. iOTA certainly will go close or win for many years to come judging from the strength of The Hip Bone Connection.