Armageddon

Singer/songwriter Guy Sebastian had well and truly left <i>Australian Idol</i> behind by 2012, when his sixth album, <i>Armageddon</i>, landed with a splash. Now firmly established, he was more focused on performing the kind of music that influenced him as he was coming up, taking inspiration from artists such as Otis Redding and Sam Cooke to manifest a soulful feel. The subject matter also took on some darker, more reflective shades, inspired by Sebastian’s new role as a father and his thoughts about the kind of future his son would inherit. “Get Along” tackles intolerance in various forms, while “Big Bad World” is a promise to protect his boy from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Guy Sebastian album without some love songs—both upbeat and heartbroken—including the Lupe Fiasco collab “Battle Scars”, which deftly threads R&B with hip-hop. Even the title track is more sensitive than it first appears, with a message about taking nothing for granted and living each day like Armageddon could come tomorrow.