Review: West Thebarton’s Mongrel Australia
West Thebarton
Mongrel Australia
Domestic La La
After nearly a decade of slogging out the trials and tribulations as bands do, South Australian rockers West Thebarton have come out the other side with their second album and some deeper emotion.
Mongrel Australia’s opening track, MF World, introduces the album furiously. After thrashing and screaming through the verses, there’s a brief hint of sweetness in the chorus melody, while the chant of “It’s me against the motherfuckin’ world!” brings a feeling of pent-up anger over the six years between albums. Feedback flows into the second song, Humble Heart—a runoff of that energy.
Fitting for the song’s namesake, George Michael features well-crafted hooks, proving why it was the lead single, while also introducing a more sensitive side to the album and the band. Faceless enhances this further, with the guitars going for a clean country twang as the scream in the opening songs softens to a humble rasp. Rising up a notch, Desire brings back the energy without blitzing by too fast for its anthemic chorus.
While hardly dead in the lead-up, Tapes hits like a punk rock defibrillator in true West Thebarton style: its driving pace and rousing chorus are perfect for a high-octane summer road trip. Cold Feet is also worth keeping one’s foot on the gas to, especially with its ferocious climax, while the album’s title track, sandwiched between these two, perfectly captures the nervous feeling a lot of people have about the world right now.
Hypersensitivity sees the band strutting furiously out of the road trip before leaping joyfully to cheers of “Yeah, I feel better now!” Neck Pains has all the sensibilities of early 2000s rock with its pumping riff, long, lively chorus, and danceable energy, while the Aussie accent in Victory Lap’s opening eventually leads to an interesting observation about alcohol and self-confidence: “No one wants to be your friend ’til they’re six drinks in.”
This is an album for rock fans to rejoice over. While some of the sounds might have softened in the gap between releases, there’s no concern about West Thebarton settling down here. These are the sounds of a new stage in life—of reaching and overcoming its challenges while still having the urge to scream about them.
AJ MAHAR