Online aggregators like the hype machine and triple j’s unearthed platform enable bands to quickly skyrocket to great heights of popularity in a very short time frame. The method of which is not always conducive to the continued longevity of a group, with the ability to replicate the intensity that their initial flame created often unachievable. The Exploders entered the Australian music scene in such a fashion, scoring a spot on Falls in 2005, playing as the house band on Rove Live and recording their second album, 2007’s Easy And The Sun in Texas and touring the country extensively to back it. The last three years however have been relatively quiet for the band, but now they’re back with their third full-length release Orche.Stratos.Pheric – proving that the massive amounts of time they’re known for spending in the studio is well spent.
Some undistinguishable sample noises start off the album, followed by a quirky down home guitar riff that expands quickly into luscious summery twang and jangle. Have A Smile builds and grows, making for one epic and grand psych/pop country number but before you know you’ve been segued sneakily into track two. While at first unsettling, the lack of track gaps on Orche.Stratos.Pheric is a calculated strategic move that works a charm. Just like a live set, there’s no time to become distracted in between songs and you remain engaged from the moment the first guitar string is plucked.
How Am I sweeps you off your feet with its’ classic pop melodies, reminiscent of the Beatles and the Kinks but fuel injected, wild eyed and crazy. Hey Fucker is like the Datsuns with a heavy dose of hip-skakin’ groove while Big Edna and the Jumpin’ Jangle Band sees The Exploders hijack honky-tonk rhythm‘n’blues and work some rock’n’roll into its soul.
The high standard of songs continues throughout Orche.Stratos.Pheric proving that, while The Exploders trajectory may have plateaued somewhat, they’re back to their top form with this new release. It seems that the time and effort most bands put into their marketing plan, The Exploders relegate to writing fearless pop songs that encompass all that is good and true about music.
BY KRYSTAL MAYNARD
Best Track: How Am I
If You Like This, You’ll Like These: THE BEATLES, THE KINKS, THE EASYBEATS, THE MC5, THE ROLLING STONES
In A Word: Electric
