Though technically a re-release, Melbourne five-piece Possible Humans’ Everybody Split is still an excellent jangle pop record that warrants another visit this week. Tracks like “Nomenclature Airspace” and “Lung of the City” open with classically jangle intros, a surefire formula for nostalgia and wistfulness that groups like The Drums and Makthaverskan have earlier mastered. “Aspiring To Be a Bloke” is the obvious standout, a gorgeous track composed of dark hints of the first wave of 70’s post-punk mixed with indie pop sensibilities, ending up sounding like an airier Preoccupations. “When this is over/I would like to be able to say that/I did everything I could to help,” entreats Leon Cranswick, a yearning inflection contorting his
vocals. Though not particularly groundbreaking, Everybody Split revisits classic post-punk and dream pop touchstones with a respectful hand, creating a gorgeously dark and nostalgic end product. —Eight.
The hotly anticipated record from modern darkwave duo Drab Majesty offers nothing especially new from the band— though, in this case, consistency is delightful. Virtually all 21st century post-punk can be dismissed with the dreaded “derivative”, but Drab Majesty manage to entrench themselves so thoroughly and unapologetically in 80’s influence that it somehow rolls back around to being impressive. At times, Modern Mirror could easily be confused with Clan of Xymox B-sides, or even cuts off of some slicker, shinier Killing Joke record. Standout track “The Other Side” is drenched in glimmering synths that surround vocalist Deb DeMure like glass bead curtains. “Dolls in The Dark” offers galloping percussion and a hopeful, uptempo atmosphere that still maintains the dark atmosphere of the rest of the record. And “Long Division” showcases one of DeMure’s greatest vocal performances, utilizing reverb-heavy layers of measured yearning that meld perfectly into Mona D’s lush soundscape. Modern Mirror rises above mere nostalgia into a record that’s tight, dreamy, and ultimately gorgeous.
Gauche – A People’s History of Gauche
Sister Polygon’s Gauche merrily sidesteps a sophomore slump with their high-spirited art punk A People’s History of Gauche. Earnest, careless basslines and chiptune-like horns pepper the colorful backgrounds of standout tracks like “Running” and “Pay Day”. A People’s History’s lively and playful attitude makes the record a must-hear for Priests fans, and a perfect soundtrack to round off July.
Pere Ubu – The Long Goodbye
After releasing two seminal post-punk touchstones, Pere Ubu promptly spent the next three decades spewing out a spate of fifteen puzzlingly mediocre records. (We refer to this as “pulling a Gang of Four”, albeit slightly less embarrassing.) The latest in that limp legacy is 2019’s The Long Goodbye, which has, unsurprisingly, demonstrated no particular advancement. On nearly every song, David Thomas squawks and moans over soundscapes that are less “experimental rock” and more “cacophony” or “the firing synapses of a dying animal”. Atrocious production coats every song in an oily sheen, rendering the scant few halfway passable tracks (“Flicking Cigarettes at the Sun”, “What I Heard on the Pop Radio”) unlistenable. Even the cover art, featuring amateur Photoshop and Bank Gothic font, is startlingly bad, the latest in a recent trend of aging music legends losing the ability to care about design (see: Bruce Springsteen, Western Stars). Diehard Ubuheads might be able to find the record worthwhile, but for everyone else, it’s generally best to leave The Long Goodbye the same way as the rest of Pere Ubu’s post-New Picnic Time output: unlistened to.
Glitterer – Looking Through The Shades
Looking Through The Shades is, admittedly, more a power pop or lo-fi indie record than a pure post-punk one, though the underlying influence is close enough that it warrants inclusion on our weekly run-down. Clocking in at twenty-one minutes with a fourteen-song tracklist, every track on Looking is quick and tight— and yet, somehow, they all overstay their welcome. Looking sounds, frankly, like some particularly bad release hidden somewhere under the new arrivals section of Bandcamp, with clumsy, unskilled production, and the vocal talent to match.
