(Rice Is Nice/Fuse)

Regular who?

Talons’ Talons LP consolidates the trio’s reputation as Sydney’s punk band de jour. It follows from 2008’s Ducats EP, which was a document of a new outfit yet to solidify their direction. It was a jerky, anxious record – with a couple of great songs and one or two duds – but overwhelmingly it was an authentic and obviously reverent foray into the vagaries of Australian underground punk. There was no formula – no template for ripping off Cave, Harvey or Howard; instead it mined neuroticism and intellectual frustration, with the result being a document that could be no more visceral without scratching it into a school desk with a stolen scalpel.

Fast-forward a year-and-a-bit of brutal live shows, and the album delivers what the EP promised. The edgy, dentist drill guitars are back gnawing at the ears; while the rhythm section thud and churn each song into a latent cacophony – ready to relapse into sonic over-stimulation at any moment. And they do, and Christian screams his curly head off, and it’s as bitchin’ as you remember. The difference this time is that the songs do the energy justice. Dazzling Metallic Stallions is a slow burner, with ghostly guitar and string lines that evanesce before a killer time change. Frankenpanther is an angular post-punk ruckus of drums and bass (Ben+Mitch=WIN). Live favourite Gravitron is as fast and hectic as the ride itself, while Mudrockets’ ear-scraping interplay between bass and guitar remains intact. Haunting backing vocals and clarinet adorn that song, while Stallions’ strings and choice guitar overdubs elsewhere give the record a tasteful, layered feel. The fundamentals are still present, but they’ve been built upon, and well. Talons: still brilliant, still timeless.

****

JAKEB SMITH

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