Crooked Colours begins a new chapter with Dirt Road Gold, the fourth album from the Australian electronic project and the first with singer, songwriter and producer Philip Slabber fully at the controls.

Following the departures of longtime members Leon Debaughn and Liam Merrett-Park, Slabber found himself rebuilding Crooked Colours while deciding exactly what the project should sound like moving forward. The transition opened the door to a more personal approach, with songs shaped by change, uncertainty and the challenge of letting go of what had become familiar.

That sense of transition runs throughout Dirt Road Gold. Across 12 tracks, Slabber moves between atmospheric electronics, dancefloor rhythms, understated pop melodies and moments of unexpected experimentation, while his distinctive vocals remain at the center. Singles “Oxford,” “Come Thru” and “Pink Limo” retain the moody electronic character that has defined Crooked Colours, while “All Yours” features fellow Australian artist Georgi Kay.

The title track provides one of the album’s biggest surprises. Born from a challenge to write a country song inspired by house music, “Dirt Road Gold” brings guitar picking, rough-edged vocals and a train-like snare rhythm into the Crooked Colours world. Elsewhere, “Do Me Like That” incorporates a sample from Australian vocalist Luna, while the closing “Honey Dog” expands into a cinematic finale complete with choir elements.

The album also finds Slabber opening the creative process to outside collaborators more than he had during Crooked Colours’ years as a trio. Working with other artists became an important part of finding his footing after taking over the project, allowing new ideas into music that had previously been created largely in-house.

Dirt Road Gold follows Vera (2017), Langata (2019) and Tomorrows (2022), three albums that helped establish Crooked Colours as one of Australia’s leading names at the intersection of indie and electronic music. This time around, Slabber isn’t attempting to erase what came before. He’s figuring out what Crooked Colours can become with one person behind the wheel, and Dirt Road Gold captures that transformation as it happens.