The Bon Scotts – Sad Sad Songs

Don’t mistake these guys for an ACDC cover band. According to their website, they’d like to be but ‘they can’t play that tricky bit at the start of Thunderstruck’. Actually, they are probably about as far away from oz rock as you can possibly get.

‘We Can Cause Such a Fuss’ is a bouncy, quirky pop song. It’s the kind of song that makes you feel a bit loopy like you might dress up in an oversized bear suit and dance down the street handing out hallucinogenic jelly beans. Synth sounds layered through the song and offbeat percussion (some of which sounds like they are beating a toy drum) exaggerates the kookiness. But it’s the lyrics that tip the song over the edge:

I’ve tried almost every rock in this town

And you are by far the prettiest going round

Things get sacrificed like conclusions and compromise

We talk nonsense but not by choice.

The cacophony somehow interweaves and comes out as a beautifully melodic pop song. The vocal dynamics really make ‘We Can Cause Such a Fuss’ a cut above your average indie pop song. Soft melodies lead into percussive chants and build up to all out shouting at one point. Their style resembles Architecture in Helsinki but weirder, without being an imitation.

‘Sad Sad Songs’ is a little more conventional with defined verses and chorus. Earthy vocals backed by swirling guitars and synths bring to mind Wilco in their more experimental moments. It’s a darker song, which is a good counterpoint to the upbeat, frolicking of ‘We Can Cause Such a Fuss’. Another song like that would have been a bit over-the-top.

A very strong single from this Melbourne 7 piece. Their album is due to be released in early September and if it can sustain the same level of pop experimentation and offbeat song writing, it will be a classic.