As Australia slowly becomes the sweltering new homeland for British graduates and gap year goers, it seems that one of its own natives has eyes for the snow-capped terrain of the northern hemisphere. Dustin Tebbutt, a rising figure in the Australian scene, has just returned to the Land of Oz from a two year relocation to Sweden, where he lived, worked, wrote and recorded his brand new EP The Breach. The result is a delicately crafted release about that move to the other side of the world, the things he left behind and the person who arrived back on Australia’s sandy shores.

The Breach is a solo work in its full and complete sense – Tebbutt wrote, produced, played and mixed the entire project. The fragility of Tebbutt’s ethereal vocals have not only been gathering radio time, but a growing fan base that cling to every whisper of his voice. Stylistically, the record pays homage to many of the northern hemisphere’s winter dwellers. Its velvet laced indie-folk musings hold similarities to the likes of Sigur Rós, Jose Gonzales and, perhaps more than any, Justin Vernon’s Bon Iver. It’s the heart-warming sounds that spring from a winter’s cold that all of these bands have in common. Something about soft lights and snow seems to evoke muted, pastel warmth within their music and Tebbutt is certainly no different.

Lead single and title track “The Breach” offers a focus on lost love. The lyrics, “But did I show you love/In the author on my face/‘Cause you know you left a hollow/Where your body cut an alcove” exhibit Tebbutt’s graceful way with words and his ability to stir emotions. “Where I Find You” and “The Wolves” follow suit with softly strummed guitars, further ethereal vocals and the same staunch eye for emotive language. It is in “White Lines” where differences begin to emerge – swapped for the guitar, droning synths take place to accompany Tebbutt’s soothing vocal sections, but the same air of winter and tranquility remains.

Although this sound is nothing new, Tebbutt manages to put his own flavour into what has already been built upon by the likes of Bon Iver. His heart-wrenching lyrical capability and the emotions put into every song make him someone to watch very closely for the future.