Whenever I’m dealing with a stressful situation, I have this dream that I’m floundering in a large body of water (often Sydney Harbour, with its picturesque architectural and engineering scenery), trying to make my way safely to shore or seek security on some buoyant object. Despite sailing for some years and growing up next to the beach, I’ve never been a fan of aquatic pursuits, so the fear of drowning is my own nocturnal metaphor for the daytime peril with which I’m grappling.
In that context, that Going Swimming have chosen to title their album of Cramps-esque psychotic swamp rock Deadtime Stories makes sense. But in contrast to my periodic nightmare, these Deadtime Stories are something to welcome. On Them Shakes, it’s Lux Interior chairing the House Committee on Un-American Activities; on Your Sister it’s The Outsiders in the carpark of the Whisky A Go Go. I Think I’ve Been Had, Lads is the ghost of The Jennys, all psychedelic spirit and adolescent abandon. Shark Attack is more a pincer move than a thrashing deep ocean attack, while the answer to Whatever Happened to the Plan? is as obvious as The Dictators-designed menu that lies beneath it.
Yoko, Oh No! is demented surf rock with a splash of Brian Jonestown Massacre; Together (To Get Her) cuts through the bullshit of rock’n’roll pretension with a minimum of fuss; RCB is Mother and Son (the Wollongong band, not the TV show) on a tequila bender; and Careers Counsellor takes you back to halcyon days when you could get on the dole with only a couple of forged signatures and a hastily written application for a job at pizza delivery joint.
Then there’s Cosmonauts and Crosses, which has you wandering between Carl Sagan, Oral Roberts and Dick Dale. Like the album overall, it’s a pretty weird and wonderful place to be.
BY PATRICK EMERY
