A quick sift through the record collection – or perhaps iTunes folder – of Perth’s Tired Lion would probably uncover the first two Veruca Salt albums, some Speedy Ortiz and Metric’s discography. This is a band that knows their way around pedal-stomp dynamics, concise songwriting and icy vocals with a sting in their tail.
There’s only so much one can discern from less than 20 minutes of music, and yet the band’s second EP is a very telling roll of tape. The band mightn’t have intended to reveal their inspiration so openly, but it scarcely detracts from the songs themselves. After all, what is great rock’n’roll but new dogs and old tricks?
Wisely, Tired Lion look beyond a sticky-floored pub in their collective ambition – I Don’t Think You Like Me is as sharp a pop song as anything that has dominated radio this year, while Suck is a meticulously-crafted mane-thrasher. If Figurine lets anything out of the bag, it’s that this is a band out for blood. Festivals and rock rooms nation-wide beware; the Lion is out of its cage.
BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG
