From the humdrum small-town lives vilified by Morrissey to the whiney, woe-is-me grunge prominent in the mid-‘90s, musicians of the past few decades have proven that ennui can be a perversely invigorating thing. Melbourne’s Fergus Miller shows that boredom and frustration is still good fodder for the young and disillusioned with his excellent debut album as Bored Nothing. That choice of band name says it all, really.
Once you get past the fact that the washed-out guitar music you’ve just put on is not from Brooklyn, Bored Nothing totally slugs you with its fuzzy, slacker hooks. It’s a sound best classified as ‘dream pop’, though there’s an agitation at its core, reflected in shirty song titles such as Shit For Brains, I Wish You Were Dead and Build A Bridge (And How About You Get The Fuck Over it). When song titles aren’t abusive, they seem cast-off and half-baked: Popcorn, Bliss, Snacks.
The lyrics and vocal delivery reflect this blend of aggression and submission. Much of it is a hazy reflection on Miller’s own life, his breathy vocals delivering stories about being young, getting stoned and skipping class. Otherwise, he chooses tragic outsiders as his subjects, sympathizing with the late moonshiner and bootlegger Marvin Sutton in Popcorn and a sufferer of a hair-pulling disorder in Just Another Maniac. You can pretty much dumb it down to a theme of ‘Everyone’s fucked’, though it’s more succinctly put in the chorus of the album’s first song: “And it’s hard for me to say/But we’ve all got shit for brains.”
Bored Nothing was compiled from four tapes of home recordings, with the addition of five new tracks. It’s beautifully track-listed, managing to show a range of tempos and styles but also forming a comprehensive, consistent album. In a rare feat, the second half is even better than the first, hitting you when the echoing Motown throb of Let Down kicks in.
True, there are a couple of down-tempo numbers that veer a little too close to Elliot Smith (Get Out Of here, Charlie’s Creek), but this is an astonishing first album from a new talent still finding his voice and individuality. Having played almost all of the instruments on Bored Nothing, this release is essentially a solo project, but there is a progression toward Bored Nothing branching out to become a full band. This is one of the year’s finest albums, but I suspect there’s even better to come from this chairman of the bored.
BY CHRIS GIRDLER
Best Track: Build A Bridge (And Then How About You Get The Fuck Over It)
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock SEBADOH, Either/Or ELLIOT SMITH
In A Word: Exciting
