Local indie super group Dorsal Fins are noisy, at times obnoxious, yet woozily intoxicating and oh so fucking trendy. You can totally dance to this record or you can just chuck it on in the background while you put together the do-it-yourself-recycled-cardboard Polaroid camera you just ordered from a thrift shop in Tokyo.
Opening song Nothing Left To Hide has Jarrad Brown ostensibly paying tribute to the courting method of ‘treat ‘em mean keep ‘em keen’: “When you left me behind / I couldn’t get enough” over the top of roughly hewn beats and ‘60s guitar riffage. However, unlike most garage ‘60s psych wannabe projects out there, this song benefits from Brown’s experience with Eagle and the Worm, with the song featuring an inwardly looking bridge and a crescendo that features a horns section.
Exposing Dorsal Fins’ full vocal artillery early, track two, Monday Tuesday, features Ella Thompson taking the vocal lead and doing her best Karen O impersonation on this syncopated rock number. This song manages to capture the inherent duality of ‘80s neo-Goth/post punk artists like The Smiths: an ostensibly upbeat style that reveals an introspection and depth through the use of the minor key and emotional yet slightly vacant vocals.
On their Facebook, Dorsal Fins list ten members that encompasses a rich bastion of local talent: Sam Raines on drums (New Gods, Jim Lawrie, Bluebottles), Richard Bradbeer on bass (New Gods, Eagle and the Worm, Bluebottles), Olaf Scott on keyboards (Saskwatch), Liam McGorry on keyboards/horns (Saskwatch, Eagle and the Worm), Lachlan O’Kane on percussion (Eagle and the Worm), Ross Beaton on guitar/horns (Eagle and the Worm), Jarrad Brown, vocals (Eagle and the Worm), and Ella Thomson on vocals (GL, The Bamboos).
This is a classy and sophisticated album that heralds the rise of new guard in Melbourne’s independent music fraternity.
BY DAN WATT