by Michael Hartt.Life can be such a drag sometimes. We’re constantly bombarded with populist, mainstream, easy-to-digest music. Rarely is anything with real feeling given much of a chance by many that prefer the safe options served to them by popular media. It’s brainless, it’s boring and it’s bullshit. It particularly feels magnified in this country; probably because of its distance from anywhere else.
On the flipside, however, the distance from the rest of the world has, over the course of many decades, made for a thriving and inventive underground scene. The Stabs follow a long line of Australian bands that have managed to establish themselves both here and overseas through the underground. They’re also one of those bands that makes it feel good to be an outsider to the mainstream world.
Dead Wood - The Stabs’ second album – is a punchy piece of swampy, aggressive punk rock that carries the flame originally held by the likes of The Scientists and The Birthday Party. The album demonstrates why they’ve been given props by the likes of Nick Cave and the organisers of All Tomorrow’s Parties.
This album encapsulates what it’s like seeing the band live. It’s loud and no-nonsense. Clocking in at just over 35 minutes, it manages to create a dark and desolate atmosphere that few bands are able to pull off without being bogged down by cliches and sounding overly effected.
Of course, there’s quiet a few bands of this ilk around at the moment - most notably in Sydney - but none are able to pull it off as well as The Stabs. Dead Wood is an album that makes it feel alright to be nothing like the majority.
1 comments:
I second that. Been listening to this album a lot this week - absolutely loving it's swampy, murky post-punk minimalism. The style never loses its punch.
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