The Drones - Havilah (ATP)
4/5
By: Doug McNaught
I don't know about you guys, but generally I don't like to be shouted at, especially by angry, politically-charged Australians. However, there is something in The Drones that makes me forget this.
Inspired by Neil Young and Tom Waits among others and mixing blues, rock, country and post-punk together, The Drones are a band that have built on the musical foundations of those who have come before them while bringing their own unique slant to the land of ballads.
Although singer Gareth Liddiard's atonal and abrasive, nasal vocals take a little getting used to, he is an incredibly imaginative and gifted lyricist and songwriter, which puts him up alongside Bob Dylan and Nick Cave, though The Drones are yet to claim the same kind of commercial success. Perhaps it's their mood, their realistic pessimism or just the roughness of Liddiard's vocals, but they have always remained in the background of main stream music since their debut release in 2002. However, with this, their third and most diverse album so far, it seems they could be opening up new avenues for themselves, both musically and commercially.
Havilah offers a range of moods and tones throughout. From the poppy, descending scales of their first track 'Nail It Down', to the sad acoustic ballad 'Careful as You Go' and the heavy chugging and screaming guitars of 'The Minotaur', it's difficult to pin down exactly where this album is going, yet it somehow retains its own style which skewers everything together like a musical kebab. But style aside, the lyrics are what makes Havilah what it is. Liddiard is both philosopher and poet and composes powerful polemics together with lines whose beauty could put T.S. Eliot to shame: 'And beneath moonless hills Chinese nocturnes breathe Cantonese through young Joe Byrne, Horsefly, shanghaied, stay home and you won't ever be alone they lie'.
The inspired lyrics of 'The Minotaur' blends together ancient myth and mundane reality, juxtaposing lines like 'I have the same old dream, about a tunnel by my bed, from where the stench of shit of minotaurs yawns like lewd and evil breath' with 'There's nothing she can do, he does not talk, he does not move, he spends all day looking at porn or playing f**king Halo 2'.
Attacking everything from capitalism, relationships and the dredges of society, it's clear that Mr. Liddiard is not a happy chappy and he illustrates this with lines such as 'Well, from now on 'til your grandkids finally get what you deserve, I'm going to be stuck here with you wookies, eating fortune cookies until my guts churn'. Nice. And as great as the lyrics are, it would be a disservice to The Drones if we didn't mention the beautiful interlacing (and sometimes violent) guitars, thundering drums and popping bass that are great for jumping around to or simply just lying there on your bed with a bottle of rat poison in your hand, depending on what track you're listening to. It's a fascinating album from a powerful voice and although it's still relatively early days for these eclectic Aussies, I can only fall to my knees and pray that The Drones get the recognition they deserve with this brilliant release.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment