More than four years since their last album, the critically adored “Young Man, Old Man”, Canberra’s Hoodlum Shouts have returned with “Heat Island”. It’s described as a cognisant snapshot of modern Australia, as seen through a world-weary but optimistic view but we found a few things that challenged that idea that made for an interesting listen.
When you think of Aussie rock, you tend to think of laid back, guitar driven music that hints at a country vibe, acts such as Midnight Oil and Crowded House come to mind but for something heavier, maybe AC/DC. Hoodlum Shouts on the other hand while having all of those elements, infuse post-rock influences along with elements of pop punk melody and even some real spacey kind of stuff.
The first half of the album is fairly typical of a lot of Aussie blue collar rock, from real laid back stuff in the opener “The Way That You Are” to more modern sounding tracks like “Twin Cities” which has an almost post-rock feel. The title track jumps around even further by heading into a punky kind of vibe with it’s catchy chorus line before taking things back a step with the more mellower “Split The Bone”.
It’s from here that the album starts to take a more interesting turn and delves away from the usual Aussie rock scene. “Good Night And Good Luck” has a cool, dirtier guitar sound which really fits the band well and more of that sound wouldn’t hurt one bit! The swinging tempo of “Self Medicating” steps things up but “Two Headed Dog” has a real focused tempo that is driven by a nice bass line through out. It’s a stand out track for sure and one that is a must for the live set. “With The Sun On Our Backs” invokes the stinking hot sunny weather of the outback and even meanders onto more jammy parts which makes you feel lost and confused as if you were suffering from a heat stroke, it’s that kind of emotional impact that makes it feel like a journey in some ways.
The album continues into even more experimental styles as the real spacey “Long Love For The Downer Club” shows, it’s a real mellow track as it stretches out into long passages of an almost psychedelic trip. The album then ends into even doomier territory “Thylacine” which oozes inspiration from drone legends Earth which to be honest, really surprised the hell out of me that we had come to this considering where the album started. “Heat Island” may be deemed contemporary Australian rock with influences of punk and post-rock but there’s a few surprises here towards the end that gives it a bit more edge to it.
TRACKLIST
The Way That You Are
Twin Cities
Heat Island
Split the Bone
Good Night and Good Luck
Self Medicating
Two Headed Dog
With the Sun on Our Backs
Love Long for the Downer Club
Thylacine
