Melbourne’s Royston Vasie have been making waves locally since 2009, but it’s taken them almost four years to release their debut album. Luckily, it’s worth the wait.
Tanah Merah, meaning ‘Red Earth’ in Indonesian, is an infectious collection of grungy, upbeat garage rock, filled with swirling, fuzzy guitars and inventive bass playing that oozes attitude and enthusiasm.
The album opener seems to directly address the extended wait for the LP, with the line of “For crying out loud / You want it now” providing a catchy hook for the track that has already received much attention from Triple J and the blogosphere.
The shared vocal duties between Cameron Mitchell and Leigh Hardingham provide a unique flair to the band’s sound that remains constantly interesting, while Brad Hardingham’s bass playing is the true standout, wonderfully stealing the attention on almost every song.
‘All The Little People’ begins with quiet guitars and an ominous backing, and slowly and intricately builds to a bouncy bass line and jangly guitars. Despite the often distorted guitars and walls of sound, the melody always somehow manages to float above this, easily accessible and enjoyably addictive.
The band’s diversity and wide range of influences ensures the album commands the listener’s attention from start to finish, and this is typified by ‘Easier’, a wonderfully crafted and undeniably cute pop song led by acoustic guitar that’s a welcome surprise in the middle of the album.
Added vocals from fellow Melbournian Courtney Barnett, who pops up across the LP, contribute some vulnerable and intimate harmonies, adding a brilliant new layer to the song.
Album centre-piece ‘Come On’ allows each member to showcase their talents across more than six minutes of brooding, catchy garage rock, with the intriguing bass lines again serving to put the song on a whole other level.
‘Get Back Yesterday’ displays another slight change in genre, with a more relaxed and toned down sound, while the hoarse, often shared vocals still retain the effortlessly catchy atmosphere that pervades Tanah Merah.
‘Can’t Wait’ features dueling between the guitars as well as the two vocalists who trade lines before the explosive and screamed chorus, while the stuck-in-your-head chorus of album-closer ‘Don’t Waste Your Time’ is quickly reduced to just a single, throbbing bass note, before being built back up to bring the album to a close with screeching guitars and pounding drums.
Royston Vasie are a band that seem to know exactly what they want to do and what they want to sound like, and their debut album sees this come to fruition in an addictive 11 songs that display their potential.
