Punk with feelings is something that’s been getting a hell of a lot of attention of late.
The wholesome take on a genre that’s traditionally been both ratty and trashy has been led in Australia by some local legends, with the likes of Luca Brasi, Slowly Slowly and Dear Seattle all adding a thoughtful flavour to the four chord jams.
Perth act Sly Withers, while not copying, have certainly channelled the same sense of sensitivity and vulnerability into their new EP Gravis, presenting a collection of anthemic tunes that is accepted neatly alongside the work of their contemporaries.
From the opening strains of Sad Guy, it’s clear that this is going to be a dynamic listen. Throughout the record frontmen and bandleaders Jono Mata and Sam Blitvich’s lyrics bluntly deal with the everyday anxieties of suburbanites, keeping one’s mental health in check and navigating relationships in the digital age.
Watch the video for Sad Guy below
While Sad Guy sounds a bit familiar to the band’s fellow rock acts that they’re surrounded with, it’s later on with the driving Lately and varied Good Days, Bad Days that the band go on the front foot and show why they’re not just another bunch of longhaired guitar slingers.
The former see’s Perth local Carla Geneve step into the mix (coincidentally on the road currently with Holy Holy), adding some wonderful harmonies and sharp vocal lines to the racing track.
Good Days, Bad Days, however, while maintaining the band’s ‘big’ guitar sound (the tones and riffage achieved across Gravis are admirable), is a far more sophisticated arrangement, starting nice and tender and slowly, but purposefully, gathering steam into a full-blown alternative jam.
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While sonically and tonally on point, there are a few points across the EP that still leaves us wondering if Sly Withers can consolidate themselves as an act worthy of a national platform.
The one-two combo of Irrational and Canine both have a fun-loving summer vibe to them but don’t strike a chord lyrically, with throwaway lines about organic food, while no doubt displaying the down-to-earth nature of the artists, feeling jarring when thrown alongside some of the more thoughtful content of the other tracks.
Stylistically too, while there is nothing inherently bad about the band’s choice to keep things simple and punkish, there are points here where it becomes borderline impossible to identify what Sly Wither’s is when held up against the other alternative acts doing the rounds on Triple J (for example).
While artists should obviously not have to decide upon their music based on what others are doing, it’s hard to shake the suspicion that there is a certain calculation of the sounds being put forward across Gravis, and at times it feels like the harmonic beauty displayed at moments across this EP get lost in the sounds of ‘the moment.’
With this in mind, however, it’s fantastic to hear Gravis conclude on the bold statement that is closing track Checkout, a well-written odyssey that moves through several different moods and closes things on a grand, cinematic note. The dynamics here, and on earlier tracks, are the reason why Gravis is worth a look in, and here’s hoping we see more of this from the band in the future.
Overall, Gravis certainly offers moments of promise, nay excitement, and displays some wonderful songwriting that is both aggressive and tender.
All too often though, Gravis sounds just like another band, a howling disc in a scene that, while offering up some great live shows and catchy tunes, falls into the category of ‘sameness’ all too often.
With a regional tour alongside Amy Shark on the cards, it’ll be interesting to see how these songs both translate live, but more importantly what stylistic influences the band will gain, and how that will affect their next release.
A step forward, but not quite a defining mark.
Check out album highlight Lately below
