It was a time when Ansett Airways reigned supreme, the Women's Weekly cake book was the pop culture bible and we were all going round the twist. In music, Australia became a pop superpower as Kylie clocked hits, Christine Anu was a national treasure and Savage Garden found global hits. Looking back on that time, it's kitsch and deeply nostalgic but it's also representative of a time when happiness was hooked to the veins particularly when it comes to pop music.

There has often been a cultural cringe surrounding Australian pop. Artists like Kylie have had to look to overseas for their credits while we've let plenty a popstar come and go. Rock music goes down in the history books while pop music is resigned for a nostalgic laugh. That's where Client Liaison come in. The duo have made a career out of reviving Australia's musical history. By beginning in the '80s and moving through to the '90s, they have revived the times that we once cringed at and turned them into glorious moments of euphoria.

Their second album Divine Intervention doubles down on that, looking to '90s Australian dancefloors in search of music that is unashamedly joyful. From Glades to Benson, they've expanded their collaborative pool and as a result, this feels like the most communal music the duo has ever made. As we crave crowds and festivals, they have made a record for the clubs. 

Australia has had its fair share of successful club music over the past decade or so but this isn't that. It's pure pop, the sort that you can hear Kylie dazzling over and that's thrilling to hear. As always with Client Liaison, it's strange to hear something that's so familiar and yet so singular. This music isn't being made in the country anymore. And while it would have been very easy for Client Liaison's nostalgic shtick to be a comedic turn, the sounds that they invest in is so heavily researched and appreciated that the duo reimagine it in a way that's inspired and exciting.

On 2016's synth-heavy Diplomatic Immunity you would have heard the influence of everyone from Tina Arena to GANGgajang. On Divine Intervention, however, we turn heavily towards '90s club music. Cold To Touch with local pop purveyors Glades is a four-to-the-floor banger dripping with '90s pop-house influences. We're immediately transported to long-forgotten club-pop hits like Euphoria's Love You Right. Whey they really unleash on moments like Unloaded you start to feel the urgency and spirituality of songs like BZ's Jackie. 

Even when they turn to ballad territory they're employing those big beats that got left behind somewhere in the '90s. Prisoners Of The High Life had us digging through the archives for Lisa Edwards' long-forgotten power ballad Cry. 

By employing a wider pool of collaborators and honing in on their pop writing, the duo are able to create higher highs on Divine Intervention and that's exactly why it works so well. Many of the songs that come from the period they're referencing come from supreme pop writers and producers from Paul Mac to Arena. The reason these songs evoke so much nostalgia is because Client Liaison's pop muscle is so strong right now that they're able to veer it away from kitsch and steer it towards redemption. 

Client Liaison are daring to delve into pockets of Australia's cultural history that we've cast a cultural cringe over. In tapping into a period of pure pop joy, they're able to give people exactly what they need right now - escapism. If you think of the biggest pop releases lately, they're all escaping into something - whether it be Dua Lipa into the world of disco or Ava Max into early '00s pop. That's exactly what Client Liaison are doing, except they're escaping into a period that often gets left behind in the Australian music history books. 

We've too often shied away from explicit joy in our homegrown pop music because it's written of as cheesy but there's value in it. Right now, we need something that can bring us some warmth and excitement and it's easiest to connect to those emotions when it feels familiar. Divine Intervention feels warmly familiar and that's its greatest success.