The latest album from Kilbey Kennedy, “Things We Did On Earth,” builds upon the Australian duo’s experimental sound palette as it arrives like a drifting transmission from deep space. intimate, melancholic, and strangely comforting, Steve Kilbey and Martin Kennedy continue refining the atmospheric neo-psychedelia that has defined their collaborations for over a decade, but this time the music feels even more immersive and emotionally direct.
Kilbey’s poetic mysticism and Kennedy’s ambient architecture have always gone well together, but Things We Did On Earth plays like a completely unified vision. Kennedy’s production is lush but restrained, layering shimmering guitars, soft synthesizer currents, spectral percussion, and subtle electronic textures into an almost cinematic dreamscape.
The album opens with “Reverie,” a fitting title for a song that slowly materializes rather than explodes into existence. Kennedy creates enormous sonic space with chiming guitars and drifting synths while Kilbey’s voice enters conversationally, almost as another texture within the arrangement. “Jezebel” is one of the record’s finest moments, pairing muted percussion and ghostly keyboard washes with one of Kilbey’s most vulnerable vocal performances in years.
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The more experimental moments land just as effectively. “Dysphoria” introduces heavier guitar textures and a stronger prog-rock pulse, yet still floats within Kennedy’s trademark atmospheric haze. Meanwhile, “Turkey” presents an exquisite sonic layering with an intriguing Ney performance courtesy of Nafise Amin.
The album closes with an emotional delivery of the title track, “Things we did on Earth.” The celestial atmosphere and sparse acoustic guitar frame Kilbey’s weathered vocals beautifully. The song gradually unfolds into something quietly transcendent, balancing cosmic imagery with emotional warmth.
One of the album’s greatest strengths is pacing. Nothing feels rushed. Songs are allowed to breathe and evolve naturally, giving the entire record the sensation of one continuous emotional landscape. Things We Did On Earth is immersive, transportive music for listeners willing to disappear inside atmosphere and emotion for a while.
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