The music of Australian band RVG is bound to earn comparisons to that of the The Go-Betweens in their early years. It's also going to get mentions made of The Triffids' stuff too. For those apt references I and others are likely to make, it's worth saying that there's a lot of unique energy on this new record. And Feral, out on Friday via Fire Records, is one of those releases that feels like something old as well as a modern spin on past works of genius.
"Alexandra" churns and swoops like The Triffids, while "Asteroid" is far more straightforward. Elsewhere, "Christian Neurosurgeon" sounds exactly like something Robert Forester would have written in 1985, while "Help Somebody" is determined and direct. This song, a real standout here, is less encumbered by ambition than some of the material here, and I think it's worth mentioning that for all the artistic ambition on some of this, the simpler songs worked better for me. "I Used to Love You" and "Perfect Day" are elegant and simple, recalling not only the bands I've mentioned already but, maybe, The Servants. There are a lot of gems on Feral, and if the epic closer "Photograph" felt like a misstep, it's the rare one here.
Feral is out on Friday via Fire Records.
More details on RVG via the official Facebook page.
[Photo: Fire Records / RVG]