Excerpt: “Turn the clock back a few years and most people were convinced there was something in the water in WA because of the sheer number of excellent acts who called that piece of Australia home. Fast forward to 2010 and it seems our short attention spans have been diverted elsewhere in the search of the source of the ‘next big thing’. A Million Square Miles is a compilation…. Drawing together 16 tracks from eight artists, it successfully navigates the folk, indie pop and rock genres….A Million Square Miles is a pleasing and mellow offering that is easy-on-the-ear and reaffirms the fact that there is something in the water out west.”

The Dwarf

Excerpt: “This is the rare exhibition of musical aptitude that delights from start to finish, with nary a disappointment to be found.  Being tagged by some as Australia’s answer to the British label 4AD, Hidden Shoal (HSR) does indeed specialize in a brand of music that places atmosphere, ambience, and texture high on the priority list.  With an onslaught of reverb and delay effects that would put the Edge to shame, this album features eight acts that run the gamut from quirky playfulness (Toby Richardson) to hypnotic melodrama (My Majestic Star). Hidden Shoals’ impressive roster on A Million Square Miles is bound to shore up some buzz, and deservedly so:  it’s an exhilarating listen from beginning to end.”
Adequacy.net

Excerpt: “Fall Electric play a spare, stripped-down rock that’s neither lo-fi nor roots music as such — instead, they resemble a calmer, reflective version of acts like the Black Watch, with strings a key part of the instrumentation but playing engaging songs that often start from acoustic guitar rather than electric… Lead singer Andrew Ryan’s voice has the calm, self-possessed sense of a singer like Butterfly Child’s Joe Cassidy, a bit sprightlier at points as a song like ‘Plastic Rabbits’ shows, but not without a sense of hidden depths… it’s the music that comes to the fore time and again, an easy swing that drummer Pete Guazzelli carefully carries with authority, bursting out in full only when he needs to rather than as a matter of course.”

AMG

Excerpt: “Measure’s best songs, such as ‘Twine Of Wool’ and ‘Segue’, utilise the band’s obtuse instrumental amalgam (acoustic and slide guitar, cello, synths and drums) along with layered vocals to create shimmering soundscapes, reminiscent at times of Grizzly Bear… the band has the ability to create some of the most interesting and original Australian music to be released in a long while.”

dBMagazine