Review: The Cast, by Michael Waugh

Michael Waugh - “The Cast”  

Michael Waugh has released his new record entitled “The Cast”. I’ve reviewed his previous albums before, and I've said in the past his albums are pretty much a trademark of quality. They’re all beautifully produced and accompanied by Shane Nicholson. The songs are interesting and heart-wrenching. This fourth album is no different. 

This isn’t trying to sound dismissive. Quite the opposite, in fact. However, it would make for a boring review if that was all you could say about the record. The fact is, with each new release, Michael is in fact becoming braver as a storyteller. Each subsequent album has taken bigger and bolder steps in directions other country performers, nay ANY modern performers, fear to tread. 

 What makes “The Cast” so compelling is that this is, quite simply, “dangerous” music. Dangerous to every bloke, simply because it dares to challenge and question the very core of masculinity we all grew up with. The core beliefs that boys from the 1980s and older all carry with them (I know, because I’m one of them). It dares to point out that all the crap we grew up believing we had to be, in order to be a “real man” is exactly that - crap. These are songs that dare to shoot holes in the facade that we’re all guilty of wearing. 

 And what’s more, songs like “He Taught Me” and “The Cast” also are textbook examples of something that us “real men” are terrified of: being vulnerable. Real men can’t be vulnerable. Boys don’t cry, or some shit. Being vulnerable is when the hunter becomes the hunted. It’s where you become less than you hold yourself to be. 

Michael Waugh’s music reminds me that this model of masculinity needs to change - for the good of men everywhere, our partners, our kids, and for society at large. These songs remind me that I have feelings too - as much as I don’t want to admit that I do. And bloody hell, they don't half hit me deeply. 

Speaking of dangerous, the album opener “Swollen” dares to call us fellas all out for being - complacent at best, ignorant at worst, about our battles with food, the struggle to stay healthy as we age, the battle to lose weight and stupid backhanded jokes we throw at each other when we plump up a bit. “You look like you’ve been in a good paddock, mate”. 

While we’re at it, “Dark” looks at alcohol-fueled blokes and the danger they can be for unsuspecting women on a night out. A big topic to be discussed, and one we try hard to avoid, and one we cannot escape now. 

During the writing and recording process of this album, two of Michael’s biggest influences - his mum and dad - both passed away. There are beautiful tributes to them in the form of “He Taught Me” and “Hold On To The Ones You Love”. “Too Many Drawers”, in honour of his late mother, is made all the more poignant because it features Felicity Urquhart, herself a legend in Australian Country circles, and an artist that was a favourite of Michael’s mum. 

This is an album of music with its heart on its sleeve, and blood and guts on its boots. It’s a rare artist who finds new ways to move me to tears with each new album. It’s almost as if he has looked into my soul at my deepest and darkest memories and fears, grabbed half a dozen of them and turned them into songs powerful enough to tear down the rugged macho shell I’ve spent my entire life building around myself. Come album number 5 in a couple of years time, no doubt he’ll do it all again. But for now, “The Cast” has given me cause to stop, pause and reflect on who I am and what needs to change. If a few more of us can do that as a result of listening to this album, Michael will have changed the world. If only a little bit.