Still Very Current

Rush To Relax
Eddy Current Suppression Ring
Aarght! Records (2010)
4 stars

"More of the same" isn't a bad thing when it comes to these guys. Three albums in and the Melbourne four-piece have well and truly locked in their blusterous garage rock sound. They're onto a winner, and they know it. Lead singer Brendan is in fine form on Rush To Relax, continually finding charming new ways of explaining everyday things, like 'tuning out' of conversations, being a 'gentleman' and not wanting to say sorry to your missus unless she does the same to you. The songs themselves are catchy as hell already, but it's the simple lyrical subject matter that takes them to another level - you sing along even louder because you know exactly what he's talking about. I Got A Feeling, Tuning Out, Gentleman and I Can Be A Jerk are as good as anything on their first two LPs, but the seven-minute kraut-inspired Second Guessing is a bit of a distraction, interrupting an otherwise excellent flow of tracks. Still, it's a damn impressive set of tracks, and to think that they recorded the lot in one spontaneous session is just ridiculous. ECSR sound good on CD, but at a pub or festival with a beer in your hand, they're something else entirely. The UK press has only recently caught onto these guys, and they're singing their praises - you'd be wise to get to a gig now, while you still can.

Artwork: A
Finally, an ECSR album with some proper cover artwork! And conceptual, too. photoshop or not, who knows. And who cares - it looks good.

Published in mX, Thursday February 18, 2010

Pure and Simple

Primary Colours
Eddy Current Suppression Ring
AARGHT!, 2008
4.5 stars

In a scene dominated by affected, fashion-driven rock groups, ECSR stick out like a sore thumb. Clever haircuts and poser attitude are as foreign to these guys as bad reviews, but you can't blame Eddy and co. that the Melbourne scenesters have adopted them as their act of choice. These boys make garage rock music the way it's meant to be done - great tunes, minus the frills, played with loads of energy and imbued with the sense that lead singer Brendan could just lose his shit at any given second. You can tell Brendan has a blast singing (and, on this their sophomore record, playing too), and the feeling is infectious - live, these guys are amongst Melbourne's best, and on Primary Colours they've proved that their brilliant debut was no fluke. And the fact that both albums start with the same guitar chord just adds weight to the notion that if it ain't broke, you don't fix it.

Artwork: C-

Published in mX, Thursday May 1, 2008