by Royal Headache
Royal Headache High (PBS feature record)
Bang! High, the long-awaited second album from Sydney garage punk band Royal Headache is finally here. The follow-up to their 2011 self-titled album on Sydney label R.I.P. Society and their earlier debut 4 track 7'' e.p. They are what I call a post-Eddy Current Suppression Ring band, but these guys are from Sydney not Melbourne. Recorded by Jon Hunter and Owen Penglis and mastered by Mikey Young, it's pretty much recorded live in the studio in the same way as lots of the 60s garage punk bands were back in the day, with some guitar overdubs. Released on their own record label, Distant and Vague, this album is a great follow up to their debut record and will not disappoint their fans. Keep it simple, keep it direct.
Two things make Royal Headache stand out from the hundreds of other bands in Australia playing this style of music. One, Royal Headache know how to write a song. Two, vocalist Shogun has a distinctive voice and knows how to sing and construct a melody within the song. Once again love is a subject covered lyrically in such songs as 'High' – I just want to stay with you, cause you get me high/I want to be with you, cause you get me high The subject of love is returned to again in the songs 'Love Her If I Tried' and 'Carolina'. Sure they rock out in tracks like 'My Own Fantasy' and 'Garbage' but have more of a quieter side on Side A closer 'Wouldn't You Know'. The up-tempo closing song on Side B of the vinyl 'Electric Shock' leaves us on a high!
By Phil MacDougall – Sunglasses After Dark
Suzannah Espie Mother's Not Feeling Herself Today (Featured on The Breakfast Spread)
Suzannah Espie has dared to go where few women would, especially in public. Not many people would be so bold as to ask “What would you say if I said that motherhood was not the best thing I’ve ever done?” as she does in the opening track to her new album Mother’s Not Feeling Herself Today. The intensely beautiful album is an exploration of her insecurities around her role as a mother. She worries about “…all the ways that I have failed…” and feels that she can’t always be true to herself, lamenting in ‘Another Day In The Park’ that “…we’ve been sold a lie/I can’t do it all no matter how hard I try.” The deeply personal nature of the album comes through in every note, musically and lyrically. I challenge anyone to listen to this and not be hooked from the start, even if for the subject matter alone – we generally don’t expect to hear a mother questioning elements of motherhood so honestly. This album is an outstanding piece of work from a very strong singer/songwriter.
By Cat – The Breakfast Spread
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