Melbourne post-punk outfit Gold Class arrived on the scene a few years back with minimal fuss and maximum focus, in turn drawing a lot of attention and hype with the release of their debut, 2015’s It’s You. It’s an album of propulsive, robust and razor-sharp post-punk – but perhaps the most exciting thing about listening to it was doing so with the knowledge that the best was yet to come.
Enter Drum, and said promise and potential has been impacted upon in a sizable way. The dynamics between each of the four members expands here, simultaneously drawing out into wider musical spaces and pulling into head-on collisions at precise moments. Opener Twist In The Dark will have you doing just that, Evan Purdey’s urgent Andy Gill-esque guitar scratching against Adam Curley’s baritone croon. Elsewhere, Trouble Fun reveals a deeper, darker vulnerability, while a rumbling rhythm section hurtles We Were Never Too Much along.
Truthfully, it doesn’t even really matter which of the ten tracks you chance upon. Both as separate entities and a collective force, Drum provides some of the most rewarding listening one will have all year. The beat goes on.
