The self-titled debut from Melbourne garage rock/soul outfit The Eighty 88s is a unique vessel amongst the armada of throwback rock and soul bands currently floating around Melbourne’s music scene. The big difference is they don’t funk around. That’s right, despite their eight-piece personnel, there are zero horns on this album, which is a good thing if you had to live through the ‘ska revival’ of the mid-to-late nineties.
The Eighty 88s’ rock’n’roll/soul sound has more in common with garage blues outfit The Dirtbombs than The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The patches of grit that lie amongst what’s essentially a clean style of music allude to that the fact vocalist Scott Connolly, guitarist Lachlan McDougal and bass player Chris Yates are from defunct punk outfit The Sophisticants.
Case in point is opening track Lovers Master, whichis driven by a bruising rhythm and jacked-up drumming, over which deep male vocals crack an evil laugh before sneering, “I don’t know what you told him/ I don’t what you promised him/ But now I’m not a man.”
The final song on the album Who Do You Love evokes images of a 1950s dance-floor packed with lindy hoppers losing their shit as Connolly cries, “Oh baby, who do you love? Oh, baby. Who. Do. You. Love?” It’s probably the most straight-up revivalist number on the album, where most other tracks embody a range of stylistic shades.
Long Way Down is helmed by the eldest of the band’s two female vocalists, Zoe Rinkel – her younger sister Miki is the other chickyou’ll hear on this record. It’s a smoky bluesy number that simmers on Rinkel’s deep voice and Teddy Mitchell’s squalling lead guitar, with Alex Warner’s responsive keys offering a nice counter-point.
Lead single Old Folks is a particular highlight that reveals the band’s ownsound, which seems to throw in all of the aforementioned styles and produce something unique.
BY DAN WATT
