The Frowning Clouds –Listen Closelier

Thu 10th Jun, 2010 in Music Reviews

The Frowning Clouds sound like they’re from half a century ago. As the bands they so perfectly reproduce were hitting their strides, their parents would’ve been learning to walk. In 2010, they’re leading the Victorian contingent of the oh-so-cool revival of garage rock.

The Geelong band’s debut album is full of nostalgia-inducing old school tales of everything girl-related and will probably be enough to make most want to go buy a record player and every early vinyl release from The Rolling Stones.

Opener Purple Heart shows exactly what you’re in for over the next 41 minutes: thirteen tales of heartache and love delivered in a blunt manner over simple instrumentation. Thankfully, the result of this mixture isn’t boring.

The rhythm and lead guitars become distinguishable in That Girl’s Something Else; the moaning backup vocals are yet another reminiscent of the bygone eras that so heavily influence the band’s sound. At nearly five minutes, it’s easily the longest track on the album and does drag on a bit.

The cover of Uncalled For’s Do Like Me stays very true to the original; similarly, the Geelong boys don’t stray very far from their influences. This makes it even harder to comprehend how the album deflects any sounds that are pompously derivative or banal.

Please Yo’ Self, Mean Old Girl and Snake Charmer showcase a more upbeat, catchy sound, with Mean Old Girl being the shortest (and perhaps best) song on the record. I’m Enchanted and She’s Gone Away are quite boring compared to the tracks that surround them.

The guitars of I Got A Bone For You and She’s Mine sound bizarrely familiar, but that’s a trademark of the album – it all sounds familiar, but still fresh. I’m Sad and I Saw You close the album strongly, separated by the country-tinged I’ve Got You.

While it could be said the album consists of thirteen songs all that sound relatively alike, it’s hard to poke holes in a formula that has been proven so effective for other bands, albeit fifty years ago. The fact that it’s being reinvigorated by a bunch of Geelong teenagers is both weird and wonderful.

The album should appeal to teenagers with its frustrated heartbroken anecdotes of adolescent life; at the same time, it’ll win over more seasoned listeners with a comfortably familiar sound. The Frowning Clouds aren’t subtle in the slightest: what you see is what you get. And what you get is damn good.