The Melbourne quartet return with a fourth LP of unique, acerbic, eclectic post-punk and dadaistic psychedelia – droll, dark, menacing and humorous, here themed underworld of fateful characters facing the collapse of society. Guitarist and vocalist Gareth Liddiard, bassist and vocalist Fiona Kitschin, guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist Erica Dunn and drummer Lauren Hammel conjure an unpredictable stop-start crash-bang of mesmeric melodies and riffs, with some echoes of something between Captain Beefheart to The Birthday Party, but also far beyond, with vivid, abstract, surreal, cutting, caustic, strangely compelling lyrics throughout, from opener Irukandji Syndrome, a dream-like tale of dangerous seafaring journeys and titular reference a venomous species of rare box jellyfish. And in Goon Show: “There's a small town with a long past/ And an old panopticon/ Where the bodies of the screws hang from extension cords.” Teeth Marché is awash with jangling guitars and other oddball, but vivid lyrics: “You want snakeskin, minktails, empires of honeycomb / Multi-coloured magic code in a bubble of seafoam.” There’s a poetic musicality to their lyrics. But in this curiosity-careering world of woozy oddness, this album lures you to get stronger as it goes along, and following the long title track, this is especially true in the trio of former Song of the Day Dunning Kruger’s Loser Cruiser, then Bloodsport and Joe Meek With Inherit The Earth, before the wistfully caustic Bye Bye Snake Eyes and closer Moscovium. A wild world of wonderfully strange and offbeat unpredictability and compelling originality. Out on Fire Records.
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