Polaroids Of Androids

Eddy Current Suppression Ring
Rush To Relax

Stocks for Eddy Current Enterprises have been rising steadily over the past few years. While the garage punks were once only known as the Melbourne band that would continually play that cruel joke on Sydney of only playing tiny broom closet sized venues when they were in town, they have slowly transformed into one of the nations most important - and above all, respected - rock 'n' roll bands.

Therefore, given the traditional route of successful Australian rock groups, it might be expected that on this, the band's third LP, they would attempt to ca$h in on the attention, set their production style to 'success' and really make a go of it. But, fortunately for purists, the band have ignored this temptation, and at least in regards to their production style - kept things pleasantly rough around the edges.

The band have, however, decided to test the flexibility of their sound. While The Eddys are still at their best when they're spitting out urgent two-and-a-half minute punk numbers, the inclusion of two songs that could only be classified as traditional ballads, as well as a pair of six-minute plus, more experimental numbers show that the band are willing to expand their signature style out of the garage.

The problem is - it doesn't really work.

The drawn out songs sound just that - like they are simply two minutes songs that have been placed on some sort of Bond villain endorsed stretching machine. Tuning Out, is an especially 'mood killing' moment, coming in after the two blistering opening songs - Anxiety and I've Got A Feeling - and completely killing the album's momentum. Second Guessing, while pleasantly showcasing the band's increased fascination with including new instruments into their compositions (in this case - keys), also hangs around for about 3 minutes longer than it has to. Meanwhile, the closing track, Rush To Relax, craps on for a whopping 25 minutes, including around 19 minutes of uncharastically wanky atmospheric beach sounds. I doubt even the most die hard fans are ever going to get through that one more than once.

I always enjoy, or at the very least respect, bands that step out of their comfort zone and see what they can do with their sound, especially when it's clearly for artistic satisfaction instead of commercial gain. That said, Rush To Relax, while still a few million miles ahead of the majority of rock records produced by this country, is undoubtedly a disappointment.

Words by Jonny

February 17, 2010 @ 15:55 · Record Reviews · Eddy Current Suppression Ring   9 comments