It seems like years ago since I saw these guys live with Perth Blues Rockers – ‘Ten Thousand Years’, and I told them on the night they should get an album out, and whilst debut ‘Demon Blues’ took some time to arrive it was well worth the wait. Second up ‘Hairy Mountain’ just happens to be even better…
On an album that starts out feeling very West Coast USA (rather than West Coast Australia where Fremantle’s D4 hail from) ‘Fools Gold Rush’ lays down a nice groovy line in the sand that says “cross me” and you immediately know you want to. There’s something nicely hypnotic about ‘Hairy Mountain’ that’s underlined on ‘Trolls’ and circled on ‘Uphill Climb’ which lazily gets you grooving.
All the best albums of course are a lot like sandwiches, the bread might be an impressive sourdough, the bun may gleam in the sun, but it’s the filling that matters, and ‘Hairy Mountain’ is a Philly Cheesesteak of a sandwich…
The filling is pretty awesome: ‘Mary Carroll Park’ sounds like vintage Quo meets Georgia Satellites on a slide-fest; whilst the title track is rocking and roaring and especially satisfying in a Humble Pie type way; and that slide returns for the slick groove of ‘Greedy World’: It’s mighty impressive and backed up nicely by the barroom boogie and blues of ‘Confide in Me’.
We end pretty impressively too with a final three coming in with a wet sail: ‘Too Much (Or Not Enough)’ is the catchiest song here; and ‘Something To Hide’ kicks out the jams more than anything else here; whist closer ‘Broken path’ takes us back full circle to the beginning with that West Coast vibe again, albeit this time with a Byrds-like Country vibe. Another great release that proves the WA scene still kicks when it wants to. And this one kicks to international standards.
TRACKLIST
Fools Gold Rush
Trolls
Uphill Climb
Mary Caroll Park
Hairy Mountain
Greedy World
Confide In Me
Too Much (Or Not Enough)
Something To Hide
Broken Path
