Melbourne garage lady duo Super Wild Horses are back with their second album, Crosswords.
Following on from their hugely successful debut Fifteen, Hayley McKee and Amy Franz have stuck closely to what they know best, but managed to show a newfound maturity as well.
Reminiscent of Joan Jett, tracks like “Ono In A Space Bubble” hark back to 90s girl punk with attitude-laden shouting interspersed with whispers and heavy guitar distortion.
Self-professed amateur musicians, certain tracks on the album could be criticised for a lack of imagination and even a haziness that blends them together, such as “West Coast” and “Meant For Two”.
The cleanness on “Heavy Step” is a welcome change from the otherwise fuzzy record, and shows influences of 1960s rock, more specifically a guitar riff that smacks of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising”.
The darker “Memphis” could be described as angry surf rock, whereas “Setting Sun” has strong flavours of country that suit the gentler vocals well.
What may have seemed an interesting choice at first, their cover of Smokey Robinson’s “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me” is expertly crafted with a driving electric guitar and lovely harmonies.
Their diversity shines through on “Dragging The Fog”, a sad, sparse, slow burner that hardly builds but maintains a tight grip on your attention from start to finish.
Loyal followers of Super Wild Horses will be grateful for their new material, and they may even win some newfound fans as well.
