Regurgitator
- eduardo and rodriguez wage war on t-wrecks (Warners)
When
the history of Australian music is written in years to come Regurgitator
will be seen as the band most creatively and uniquely in tune with
their time. This time. They do it at once to their credit and their
detriment. Apart from Japan, the rest of the world just hasn't understood
this band which all at the same time is as daring and irreverant
as the Beastie Boys, as technologically adept and inventive as Moby
or Fatboy Slim, as incisive as pop song writers as the Replacements
and Beck . When we look back in years to come we will identify all
this and its quirkiness as the 'Triple J years', summed up wonderfully
by Regurgitator. Triple J naturally loves them but the radio stations
still repeating the Triple M years ad nauseam don't know what to
do with these musical adventurers. It's all water off the proverbial
duck's back as far as Regurgitator is concerned. They just keep
doing what they do. This latest album is something of a crossroads
for them. It could easily be called 'And Now There Are Two'. Since
'..Art' Regurgitator have parted company with drummer Martin Lee.
He played little or no role in that album (part of the reason for
his departure), so if there's any great leap we would need to go
back to 'The Unit' to find it. The shift is more towards the rap
end of their musical extremism. Two rap style tracks open the album
and more lurk within. The problem for Regurgitator must always be
how to track their albums, how to make this diversity work over
the breadth of an album without jarring. A journey with Regurgitator
is never without its bumps and breath-taking twists, but they do
manage to set a course. By the time we reach this album's end we
have reached a different place from where we started, more groove
oriented now. Regurgitator is always a challenge for the listener.
Their pop sense is their saving grace. When the going might be tough
up pops some immediately entertaining bright spot. But even then
we're likely to have been lulled into a false set of security as
the band, and the album, or the song suddenly change direction.
Four albums in and Regurgitator are still having fun.
When
the history of Australian music is written in years to come Regurgitator
will be seen as the band most creatively and uniquely in tune with
their time. This time. They do it at once to their credit and their
detriment. Apart from Japan, the rest of the world just hasn't understood
this band which all at the same time is as daring and irreverant
as the Beastie Boys, as technologically adept and inventive as Moby
or Fatboy Slim, as incisive as pop song writers as the Replacements
and Beck . When we look back in years to come we will identify all
this and its quirkiness as the 'Triple J years', summed up wonderfully
by Regurgitator. Triple J naturally loves them but the radio stations
still repeating the Triple M years ad nauseam don't know what to
do with these musical adventurers. It's all water off the proverbial
duck's back as far as Regurgitator is concerned. They just keep
doing what they do. This latest album is something of a crossroads
for them. It could easily be called 'And Now There Are Two'. Since
'..Art' Regurgitator have parted company with drummer Martin Lee.
He played little or no role in that album (part of the reason for
his departure), so if there's any great leap we would need to go
back to 'The Unit' to find it. The shift is more towards the rap
end of their musical extremism. Two rap style tracks open the album
and more lurk within. The problem for Regurgitator must always be
how to track their albums, how to make this diversity work over
the breadth of an album without jarring. A journey with Regurgitator
is never without its bumps and breath-taking twists, but they do
manage to set a course. By the time we reach this album's end we
have reached a different place from where we started, more groove
oriented now. Regurgitator is always a challenge for the listener.
Their pop sense is their saving grace. When the going might be tough
up pops some immediately entertaining bright spot. But even then
we're likely to have been lulled into a false set of security as
the band, and the album, or the song suddenly change direction.
Four albums in and Regurgitator are still having fun.