Listening to the new album by Tape/Off is like journeying across the wide open landscapes of Australia where the scenery dramatically changes and yet remains breathtaking and stunning throughout. And threaded through every note is a larrikin sense of humour (the album title itself is an obscure Homer Simpson reference). The result veers from unhinged diatribes – rough, stark sonic landscapes filled with horror and outrage – to dreamy anthems that glitter and shine like the oceans off the Queensland coast. Sometimes all within the one song.
There is the deranged exhortations of the title track that feels like an alcohol fuelled rampage while at the controls of a fuel tanker heading for the shores without control – an angry diatribe against the many vicissitudes of life – to the eye-watering anthemic and majestic ‘Crying On The Kitchen Bench’.
‘Flat Earthers’ with its chanting I’m on top of the world has the delicious pop buffoonery of bands like TISM with a pulsing beat and layered instrumentals.
‘Nightshift’ mixes sweet melodies with wry spoken expositions above a muscular honking bass worthy of Tracy Pugh and squealing, squawling, howling guitars that snarl with an intensity. ‘ZZ Top’ returns with a anthemic pop sensibility and yet is warped by contrapuntal instrumentation that scuttles underneath the melodies.
‘Into The Ocean’ is pure punk in delivery with a shouty noisy delivery that is pulse quickening and exciting. ‘Paris,Texas, Queensland’ is so Australian with the broad accent and pogo bounce that you can smell the sunscreen, taste the cold beer, get blinded by the bright blue skies and the searing sunshine, drenched by the rain storms and deafened by the crack of thunder all within the one song.
Final track ‘Monday Morning’ is literally the next day after a weekend of bacchanalian excess: reflective, regretful, a slight headache cowering in the corner of your head and faint ray of sunshine expressed in the wistful whistling refrain. After the preceding sonic chaos, you are brought gently home, car in the garage and nothing left but memories, but as the song lures you into a peaceful respite, the urges begin again and the pace ramps up to a cataclysmic finale. Maybe it’s the medicine taking control, but a fitting conclusion to an epic journey. Nurse! My pills!
‘Fort Sensible’ is out now through the wonderful Coolin’ By Sound label and available to download and stream through the link above and here.
Tape/Off are off on the highways to display their inestimable wares: details below.
Tape/Off’s ‘Fort Sensible’ Tour
09 MAY Iron & Resin Garage Coolangatta
10 MAY Soapbox Beer Brisbane
16 MAY The Lansdowne Hotel Sydney
17 MAY La La La’s Wollongong
23 MAY The Crown & Anchor Adelaide
24 MAY The Gem Melbourne
