SCOTT AND CHARLENE’S WEDDING: Don’t Bother Me
This is a nicely put together song about being shithouse at dancing.
SCOTDRAKULA: Skeleton Fever
A slow-burn of an arm-in-arm anthem, Skeleton Fever never overcooks it while achieving a grand sense of space. It embraces simple melody, whirling together disjointed guitar and organ, transforming sadness into victory. Never truly explodes, but it stokes the coals.
CIVIL CIVIC: The Hunt
Deceptively opening with some Kirin J Callinan-style (hell, it could actually be KLC) shimmering guitar, The Hunt blasts into some thrashy drum machine goodness, not afraid to lock into syncopation. There are calculated corny builds leading into histrionic clearings, sounding like an ‘80s idea of EDM at times. There are moments, but the ambition comes at the cost of focus.
SIGUR ROS: Óvedur
The crackle on Óvedur slowly escalates into a full-on glitch breakdown, an interesting turn that doesn’t quite equate to grandeur, instead aiming for woozy disorientation. It doesn’t quite get there, and doesn’t really offer anything to hold onto. There is some beauty in the initial subtlety, however.
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
ALICE IVY FEAT. RARA: Almost Here
It’s serendipitous that Alice Ivy emerged just before The Avalanches came outta hibernation, possessing a similar flair in production and sampling. Almost Here is a huge step up, featuring some killer percussive tones matched with some uninhibited flourishes in the beat, setting the foundation for some chill bars from Melbourne collective RaRa. With hip-hop artists starting to look to the likes of Kevin Parker for production credits, it’s a trajectory you could see Alice Ivy following. But for now, Almost Here is rock solid.
