Somnambulus

There is a good range of contemporary music playing in this town, but there aren't many gigs you can go to and would have the privilege to say -- in twenty or even thirty years time -- I was there.  These days, bands aren't as shambolic or erratic as they were: lead singers remember the words, band members turn up, dangerous items are not thrown to or from the stage, and punters generally do not walk out of a gig bloodied or harmed.  Not that it used to happen often, but it happened surely enough. Seeing music and live performances is pretty safe these days.  You can't even passively smoke, which is also a benefit.  I didn't grow up in Melbourne.  I grew up almost everywhere but here.  The best part of my time was spent in Sydney.  All of Australia's most influential music passed through that town, but not all of it got off the ground.  It was there I saw drunken lead singers slouch off the stage mid-song and mid-set after floundering in their...

Seminal records are not written every day, and some are found in retrospect.  They are determined by the ground they break, the level of subtlety that most others cannot achieve, and their authenticity.  Authenticity that is derived from the connection and interpretation of a source that has crossed the track, often against volition.  The drive to resurface is fuelled by volatility.  That is what distinguishes vibrant, challenging, visceral work that redefines our understanding. It's easy to follow behind those who have already cut through ahead.  It is easy to write sweet, fluffy melodies that catch like cotton wool.  Anything that makes a difference to how we understand goes further and deeper.  And its impression lasts that long. Great music often has a great pedigree.  The collaborators on Sour Mash are epic in every respect.  Tex Perkins is joined by the imitable Kim Salmon, the spanking Spencer Jones, cardinal drummer James Baker, a...