polaroids of androids

The music of Melbourne's Eddy Current Suppression Ring conjures up images of sweaty pubs, inner city shortcuts, smashed pots of beer and wasting away a Tuesday afternoon on cheap jugs. Sadly, these are fading visual references to Australian rock in 2008 where work for the dole schemes, rising interest rates and MySpace seem to have all but suffocated the life out of the blue collar side of local music. No where more-so than Sydney does this concept feel so foreign, as it often seems as though the only bands who are regularly putting on shows are hipster rip-off hacks and kids from the rich part of town who discovered Television via that cool kid at high school.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring are undeniably Melbourne. Their music is stripped back, honest and every moment overflows with a perfect blend of sincerity, determination and blood. It's aggressive music but not at all macho, finding it's place on the railway tracks that run between the football club and the arty part of town. It's not only enjoyable because of it's lovely balance between the dirty delivery and the often stark and crystal clear rhythms, but also because of the way it pretty much sounds like it doesn't have a place in the current Australian rock 'scene' and seems more than happy to stand out by itself.

I have no problems lazily labeling this as the swaggering, drunker cousin of You Am I. It's more brass, more aggressive and not as introspective, but it's definitely built from the same Australian pub rock ideals that the previous generation leaders - Tim Rogers, Tex Perkins etc - took to the masses.

If there is a single weakness of not only this record, but the work of ECSR to date, it's that their music is almost completely free of any emotive connecting line between themselves and their audience. The music is served to the people as an amazingly entertaining package, but rarely do the band invite others in to make them feel like they are part of it. We watch, but don't get allowed to touch or feel anything.

That said, there is not a single dull moment on this record. The group cleverly hide their influences under a thick layer of Australianisms and a unique vocal style. Primary Colours is 'chockers' with songs that are both nostalgic, yet void of any clear attachments to any particular style or ethos. This is music that makes you want to go and get drunk in an alleyway, fight some strangers and then maybe go and throw rocks at an abandoned building for a couple of hours just for 'something to do'. I highly doubt that too many other local releases this year will force me to act like such a ruffian.