It should all be so right – scratchy rhythms, strung out guitars, agressive punchy hits and dark lyrics about losing your mind. Guitars howl and time signatures change. Harmonies come in, the antipodean frontman yowls and croons in unequal parts. There’s certainly angles there: songs about burying the dead, pornography and mythology. Oh and the albums named after a land of plenty just outside the garden of Eden, so that’s God covered too.
Yet this is not a Nick Cave record. And that’s where The Drones suffer. The influences of The Badseeds, The Birthday Party and the Gun Club overshadow their competent, if unadventurous, sound. Musically it’s enjoyable, but frontman Gareth Liddiard’s Aussie drawl is an acquired taste. Think tiny parts of Cave throughout his career put in a blender with Johnny Rotten and you’re almost there. At times this works fine, particularly at the end of ‘The Minotaur’ where his repeated yelps of “Veni, Vidi, Vicious” bring the track to a cacophanous, brutalist climax. However, when things are slowed down, the raspy nature of the crooning begins to grate, and expose the occasionally clunking lyrics, ‘Careful As You Go’ being a case in point. Seriously, it is not OK to try to rhyme Emmaus with New South Wales. Ever.
‘Oh My’ takes on ideas of global warming and injustices by saying “humans are a waste of food” and suggesting people should “get your tubes tied or better yet go commit suicide”. It also contains the line “I’m going to be stuck here with you rookies eating fortune cookies”. Ouch.
Yet for all this when it all comes together Havilah is an enjoyable listen. It’s a woozy, off kilter take on country rock with some instrument wrangling thrown in for good measure. The problem is that things don’t fall in to place often enough for The Drones, and it leaves them explosed. The bargin basement Bukowski lyrics don’t quite support the elongated songs or the hushed reverance they seem to recieve in some quaters.
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If you’re going to criticize the lyrics you should at least attempt to get them correct. They are online after all. The line in “Careful as You Go” is “She reads my emails/Back home in New South Wales.” I honestly have no idea how you thought Emmaus could even remotely work in that context. Also, the line is “I’m going to be stuck here with you wookies eating fortune cookies.”
By the way, if you connected with the noisier side of The Drones, might I suggest you get a hold of The Miller’s Daughter? Walls of noise there.
With respect I repeatedly listened to this record- if the lyric is “she reads my emails” then the pronunciation could do with a little work, and the lyric still doesn’t scan.
Equally I would contend that rookies or wookies, it’s still a terrible lyric. I was torn whether it was rookies or wookies as once again it isn’t overly clear- I suppose I had hoped it was rookies because that would be better of the two.
I will hapily seek out millers daughter on your recomendation, as I liked the groundwork here, if not the final product
I listened to this album and thought that compared to this Nick Cave and the bad seeds sound like a contrived band of hacks. This is heartfelt, intelligent music with little or no pretence- god knows there isnt a lot of that out there. Granted- its a grower- got stuck in my cd player on repeat for weeks-Recommended to anyone who remembers how good raw, unfiltered rock music. Yeah, there are a few lyrical clunkers, but on the whole the lyrics are very good too.
My brother sent this to me – I think it is some of the most exciting, beautiful and intelligent music I've heard in a while (and I'm a big Nick fan.) Cold and Sober makes me cry… thought provoking stuff. Hey and I don't mind an Aussie drawl and I'm a kiwi… cmon…. BTW Dimmer's new album – fucking fabulous.
gareth is not “suggesting” that anyone commit suicide or get their tubes tied. what he is implying is that people/institutions/governments have sat on their hands for decades concerning the issue of global warming, and now it’s actually too little, too late.
you might wanna give it another spin.