Opener Heatwave, which features simultaneous double-drum (and bongo) takes, is giving Dick Dale’s Miserlou (from Pulp Fiction’s OST) – such a vibe!
Surf’s up, the local milkbar stocks Golden Gaytimes and your future summer beach hangs have never sounded so good.
Tornado Time swirls around like its namesake, enhanced by an unhinged melodica solo. Whereas more instrumental songs chuck a King Gizz and pretty much chant the title throughout, Earthquake introduces actual verses and Beach Boys-inspired harmonies, with percussive piano stabs underlining thwacking drum rhythms.
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Wipe Out-style shimmering riffs are a recurring motif throughout Weather Report, which is pure escapism – danceable and fun.
Although most of these songs are named after natural disasters, they’re also metaphors for the fundamental stresses of human existence (Earthquake is about a breakup, for instance).
Cheeky bass ushers in the joyous Landslide, which repeatedly asks, “Are you stuck in a downward spiral?”
We really wanna see The Muppets performing standout track Rubbish, which is irresistibly kooky. “Put ‘em in bags, put ‘em in bags, put ‘em in ba-ba-ba-bags!” – a mass-singalong moment we simply must experience.
Elsewhere: Monsoon’s mounting vocal lines hit impressive highs; Sunburn tunefully warns, “Hole in the o-zone!”; Mega Cyclone’s mosh potential is off the Richter; and Tidal Wave’s beats dexterously replicate being dumped in the surf.
This Melbourne sextet’s love for what they do shines through every meticulously produced detail. The forecast is good. We predict Hobsons Bay Coast Guard are a hoot live, too.
LABEL: CHEERSQUAD RECORDS
RELEASE: OUT NOW
