Fremantle six-piece, The Growl, have undertaken a subterranean exploration of all that is dingy and dark. The result? An incredible and diverse debut album in What Would Christ Do??.
They’ve been cited as one of the Australian acts to watch in 2013 by NME, and have only recently come to the end of their USA/Canadian tour supporting the fuzzy goodness of Tame Impala. Cam Avery, the voice you hear over the 11 tracks, also happens to be the drummer for Pond, another psychedelic rock band; but that’s where the association with the synth, bobble-head type stops.
Songs border on the nightmarish: NIYWTLWOE, (which from the lyrics, we’re assuming stands for Not If You Were The Last Woman On Earth) opens with an ominous whistle followed by what could only be described like a walking, loose metal machine. Stuttering beats will make your ears dizzy – and it’s a good thing.
Using a distorted harmonica in their cover of gospel classic John The Revelator seems like the only natural choice for The Growl. It might also be the only song that comes close to answering the dire question in the album title.
Cleaver Leaver, their first single, scored a bucket-load of community radio airplay in the past and it’s easy to see why. The song oozes an industrial-flavoured ‘cool’ quite unlike any other track on the album with its screeching guitars and slimy bass.
Note must be made of Avery’s voice, which suits every song to a tee; scratchy and trying very earnestly to be menacing in the more powerful songs, then honest and meltingly imperfect in stripped-back tracks like Sailor’s Song. What Would Christ Do?? and its clunky, semi-spooky vibe grows on you. Definitely deserving of more than one listen.
BY KATIE DAVERN
Best Track: Cleaver Leaver
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: POND, MELODY’S ECHO CHAMBER, ALLBROOK/AVERY
In A Word: Theatrical
