It seems that many fresh, young bands these days tout the ‘synths are the new guitar’ philosophy, with banks of keys, loops, pads, laptops, electronic anythings replacing the familiar sound of the six-string. Not so the curiously-named Melbourne outfit I, a Man.
Following a half-year on from their promising debut EP, You’re Boring Us All further develops their reputation for distinctive, inventive guitar sounds. Built around the dialogue between the six-strings of singer Daniel Moss and fellow axeman Ash Hunter, their take a textural approach to their instruments. Whether rippling in ambient washes, strumming with a drone and twang, or coiling together for big, shimmering chords – as one lead single Sometimes – their playing possesses both intelligence and flexibility
Anchoring their spacious soundscapes are the durable rhythm section of Matt PInxt and drummer Sumner Fish, their own nimble lines and beats locking in and around the guitars as they stretch and scrape in novel directions.
The title track that opens the EP quickly demonstrates their knack for blending the cerebral with the instinctual. Upward flights of picked chords play against a steady backbeat before Pinxt’s bass yawns through the gaps. Moss’ tender alto and splashes of guitar strumming fill the picture in a beautiful wash of distinctive elements not dissimilar to the watercolours that grace the cover.
The organic way that their tunes transform and swell is at once calming and thrilling. From the steady hum of Haight Ashbury over thumping toms and droning chords before it shifts and turns for a vivid ascending edge, to the melancholic plucking of Chores – particularly it’s beautiful mid-section of chromatic chord changes that even recalls the technicolour shifts of Pink Floyd. They even manage to make the typically tricky five-four time signature sound natural on Five Four (geddit).
Of the six tracks, there’s not a weak moment among them, beautifully realised by the production team of Tim O’Halloran and David Williamson, the subtleties of their experimental techniques work they way subconsciously onto the record. A set of clever and diverse songs that never obscure the group’s love for a tender hook. Like the magnetic central two-chord riff of Sometimes, I, a Man will nestle their way into your heads and you’ll be happy to accommodate them.
BY AL NEWSTEAD
Best Track: Sometimes
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Foreign Tapes PARADES, Great Deeds Against The Dead GOSTELERADIO, Dancing Back & Forth… KINS
In A Word: Textured
