The Grates - 19-20-20

Fri 3rd Mar, 2006 in Music Reviews

It’s been quite the 12 months for The Grates. They’ve barnstormed every festival under the sun (from the Big Day Out to Meredith, The Falls Festival to Homebake). They’ve completed two sellout headline national tours with Bit By Bats and Expatriate. They’ve flogged debut four-track EP The Ouch. The Touch - now a year old – into the ground, largely due to Triple J placing EP tracks Message, Sukkafish and Trampoline on high rotation.

They’ve been splashed across every publication from Rolling Stone, NME, Filter and Pitchfork Media as a band to watch in 2006; staring out from glossy magazines in their usual attire of bright t-shirts and vintage dresses. And when you read this, they’ll be somewhere in either the UK or US where they’re touring with The Go! Team or We Are Scientists respectively.

So it’s verging on mind-boggling that amongst all this, Patience (vocals), John (guitar) and Alana (drums) had time to record their long awaited debut album but somehow they slipped off to Chicago and hooked up with esteemed produced Brian Deck (who has worked with Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine and Secret Machines) to knock out the impending Gravity Won’t Get You High (out in early April).

19-20-20 is the first cut to be taken from the album, and the first thing that strikes you is that it’s a sonic leap forward from the band’s previous recordings, largely conceived in a shed in Brisbane. The track itself would be instantly recognisable to anybody who has witnessed the band’s live act, as it’s a live staple and a highlight of any gig. Somehow the track manages to confine everything great about The Grates (no pun intended) into a mere two minutes – a catchy riff, exuberant vocals from Patience. Here she sounds excited to be belting out

“my baby’s out, yeah he’s shooting tigers
my baby, he’s such a fucking liar”
 
and throat-shredding yelps from John. And as with all the band’s recordings there’s an underlying sense of fun – this is certainly more along the lines of Be Your Own PET than Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a band The Grates are often compared to.

Production wise 19-20-20 goes where Grates songs haven’t before; incorporating bass guitar, a wall of guitar sounds and well-timed brass bursts yet without losing the band’s enthusiasm or edge (kudos to one-time Interpol mixer Peter Katis for his work on the album).

What more can be said? If all goes according to plan, The Grates’ album will be hard to beat as the local album of the year. And with an overseas distribution for it already in the bag, it seems inevitable that 2006 will be The Grates’ biggest year yet.