Chook Race

Amping up the pop from last year’s About Time LP, Chook Race are due to issue their new album on Brisbane’s always awesome Tenth Court and the ever reliable Trouble in Mind here in the states. They’ve smoothed the wrinkles and delivered an album that draws on Flying Nun’s jangled past as well as some more Americanized indie pastiches that feel welcome in their hands. While the dreaded D word hasn’t crossed into the US with regards to Aussie pop, abroad Dolewave rules and Chook Race have largely steered clear of what would normally be the hallmarks of the current indie ripple, though they do have a tendency to meditate on the everyday hangups that quirk up our lives. They break apart from the pack though and trade shaggy swagger for a crisper sense of melody and a sparkle that gives the songs on Around The House a yearning quality that’s less aloof than it is quietly lonesome and incredibly catchy.

The band have a handle on winsome pop that’s not knotted up in rote lackadaisical jangle as much as it bounds from the bounce of strings to driving buzz in an instant. The band kicked the surf out of their system for the most part and found a new friend in the heart of the Athens, GA songbook – think more R.E.M. and Elf Power than Pylon and B-52’s. They knock around a mix of guy/girl vocals (how come we never say man/lady? Is it that rock keeps us forever young?) in perfect volleys, spiriting the album along to an almost cruelly quick conclusion. They leave the fans wanting more, while providing a salve for the troublesome clouds of daily life. Honestly, its hard to ask for more than that of a pop album these days. It soothes the savage burn, complements a cup of tea and you can shake ‘n shimmy to it.



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