Kick The Moon Reviews
"We've long been bugging Luke Thomas to put his name on his records. But despite being in some high-profile bands, including The Pictures and Lavish, Luke is a modest rock star, and his new album, Kick The Moon, has been released under the name Central Rain, even though it's as close to a solo record as you'll get, with Luke having played everything, apart from the drums. Recorded direct to 2-inch tape in just two days, the album has a great vibe. The first single, Hurricane Stan, is one of Howzat!'s 2017 faves. Paul Westerberg would be proud of this song. All the right bits are there - it's rough and raw and rowdy, with a hook that has you humming all day. Call it a band name, call it a solo record, call it whatever you want … Luke Thomas has delivered a gem."
Jeff Jenkins, Howzat! (The Music)
Flying Information Reviews
"Luke Thomas started his career in Brisbane band Lavish and, more lately, you might have heard his band Deserters. Now this solo project focuses all of the (considerable) melodic slow-burn at his disposal into a mini-album which will appeal to fans of fellow travellers like 78 Saab and The Church. He has an evocative turn of phrase in his lyrics too on songs like Cold Turkey On Christmas Day, where he is backed by a swelling string arrangement as he sings of yearning for escape. The Mezzanine is a Brisbane story involving a trampoline, midnight trains and playing the records of a certain iconic band of that parish. Throughout Thomas is as restless musically as he is lyrically. I Can’t Keep Up shows there are many more ways to be a singer-songwriter than merely strumming a few chords. But pick of the bunch is the winning jangle of Coloured Stones, where Thomas sings of taking to his car to drive away from his memories. In an alternative pop universe, Coloured Stones would be huge. See you there!"
4 stars
Noel Mengel, Courier-Mail
"Depending on where you came in, this is the latest band guise for Luke Thomas — he formerly of Lavish/The Pictures/The Deserters. If aware of any of the above, you'll realise he knows his pop history which comes through in the drenched melancholy of Cold Turkey On Christmas Day, or Give It All Up Tonight's best thing Blur never wrote. Thomas works mostly as one-man band, but occasional second vocals from Elly-may Barnes add some softer conversations. The six tracks of this are a handy sampler of his sometimes sentimental take on the craft of pop-song writing."
3 ½ Stars
Ross Clelland, themusic.com.au