The dynamic live performances of Australia’s Xavier Rudd are a true showcase of how talented he is, both musically and vocally. Unfortunately, he has not quite been able to capture his impressive energy when working in the studio, and his latest album, White Moth, fails as his last, Food in the Belly, did before it.

While the album does have a few bright spots, it is incredibly lackluster as a whole and a major disappointment coming from someone so gifted. The album relies too much on slow ballad songs, which showcase Rudd’s lyrical talent, but do not highlight his supreme skills as a musician. He excels when he can craft driving, fast-paced rhythms, synching the yidaki (known in America as didgeridoo) sounds or his vocals with stomp box beats and his guitar together perfectly. Unfortunately, this impressive ability hardly makes an appearance on White Moth, an album bloated with sub-par songs.

“Better People” is the opening track on the album, and begins with a nearly sleep-inducing spoken word intro. While the song gets slightly bouncier and more upbeat after that point, it is still a disappointment, setting the tone for an incredibly underwhelming album. Of the album’s 14 songs there are only a handful that should have been kept.

Without a doubt the best song in this album is “Twist,” which takes obvious cues from Bob Marley, but also showcases the best Rudd is capable of. He almost spits out the words to the song in lieu of singing it, creating an unusual beat that surprisingly works. The halted rhythm meshes perfectly with the lyrics to the song. Everything else on White Moth comes up far short of the level of this song, mostly due to its deviance from the upbeat rhythms Rudd is best at. The attempt at being a lyrical balladeer falls far short.

White Moth’s lackluster collection of songs dooms this album from the opening notes. There is almost nothing redeeming on this album, save for “Twist” and “Stargaze.” The other songs on the album are generic and plodding ballads, all of which seem to merge and run into one another, resulting in an album that is bland rather than cohesive.

Ultimately, the best way to hear Rudd is via live performance.

Rudd will perform at 8 p.m. at the 9:30 Club in Washington on July 28. Tickets are $17. He will also perform at 8 p.m. on July 29 at the 8×10 in Baltimore. Tickets are $15.

Contact reporter Tripp Laino at tripp@umd.edu.