Dick Diver - New StartAgain

Tue 1st Nov, 2011 in Music Reviews

Recorded by Mikey Young, renaissance man of the Melbourne garage scene, New Start Again is the debut full-length by much fancied Melburnians Dick Diver. After a few spins of the album, it mightn’t be completely clear to some why this band have caused a stir – albeit a mild one – in recent times, but to others it may be as clear as day. A polarizing band, the proponents point to their lack of pretences, their loose, Neil Young-like melodicism, their dazzling turns of phrase, and their unvarnished Australian idiom. Likewise, their detractors could point to their sloppiness, their semi-formed songs, and the pretentiousness of claiming to lack pretences (strange, but true).

At the very least, it seems fair to say that Dick Diver have an difficult relationship with their own intelligence, damping down their wit and craft with sonic clutter, non sequiturs, and wilful sloppiness. Dating back to punk, amateurishness has been associated with authenticity in the minds of many, and one wonders if Dick Diver downplay their abilities in response to this curious inverse snobbery. It could, however, be an aesthetic decision, maybe even a brilliant aesthetic decision. However, there’s a guitar that remains out of tune for the duration of the otherwise excellent Seagulls. Aesthetic decision or no, it’s just infuriating to listen to.

One thing they can’t keep a lid on is the consistently high quality of their lyrics. Guitarists and primary songwriters Rupert Edwards and Al McKay spend the entire album trying to outdo each other, much to the listener’s benefit. Quips about Keno, a banker’s beer gut, an IT clerk’s new WRX, seagull shit, toothbrushes, all add considerable colour to New Start Again, and are almost worth the price of admission all by themselves.

Even bassist Al Montfort and drummer Steph Hughes enter the fray, in duet on the title track, and on Montfort’s showpiece, album closer Head Back. Though the respective tracks are perhaps the loosest on the record, they are by no means token additions. In fact, Montfort completely steals the show on Head Back, inciting a guitar duel, and referencing Gumbaya Park, Wobbie’s World, and Kerri-Anne.

Their best moments carry more than mere wit, though; the aforementioned Flying Tea Towel Blues carries such a sense of foreboding that its lazy, tossed-off delivery fails to dull its impact. As for the extensive, righteous soloing that annexes the song’s final two minutes, it’s simply awesome, all the more for being unlike anything else on the album.

Similarly, On The Bank, colloquial and skewed though it is, has a powerful sentiment that serves as the song’s ballast. Edwards is waiting for a girl on the bank; as he wryly observes the social groups around him, he keeps drifting back to his doubts. Is he early? Is it the wrong day? Is she even interested in me? A lovely slide guitar and Steph Hughes backing vocal sweeten the characteristically dry Diver sound.

New Start Again is a great album. Dick Diver can frustrate, and I’d love to see them cut the crap and get more serious about their craft, but when they’re so damn likeable as they are, what does it matter?