Naming your band after an Aussie rules football team is hardly a ploy for global reach.
So it’s not surprising that the key influences on The Adelaide Crows’ six-track debut EP Ornithology are mostly Australian.
In particular, the presence of one Paul Maurice Kelly (that’s the musician not the footballer) hangs heavy throughout. To explain: the four-piece, who actually hail from Melbourne, are all about simple, satisfying chord changes and the lyrical imagery delivered by singer Owen Virtue in a Kelly-like Australian twang.
On the clangy opener ‘Capital City’ he sings, “oh holy man, I’m gonna drink my way up the north coast/the further I go, the further I grow”. “Williamstown Beach” provides the scenic backdrop for a twisted love story: “And you said, ‘come on baby won’t you dance with me?’/ I spent all my money on bad ecstasy.”
‘Left Handed’, with its chiming, restless guitars and jaunty rhythms, recalls Great Barrier Grief-era Oh Mercy, an enormous compliment.
On the other end of the scale, the slightly lightweight, ‘The Love Affair’ plays like The Smith Street Band if that band wasn’t into alternative rock and punk.
Record closer ‘Durestless’ builds in momentum nicely, with well-placed “woos” and a neat guitar-break.
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Recorded with Money For Rope’s Julian Mack, Ornithology is a pleasing debut that hints at a prosperous future for this Melbourne bunch.
They may share their name with The Adelaide Crows, but in reality, the Gold Coast Suns would be more appropriate. That is, very soon they could be unstoppable.
