(ORiGiN/Shiny)

The Basics grow up … a lot, in fact

Look, it’s a miracle The Basics are still with us. Core songwriters Wally de Backer and Kris Schroeder haven’t quite managed the required balance of creative tension fuelled by animosity (think Simon & Garfunkel, Oasis before they broke up, Lennon and McCartney …), erring instead on the side of (often public) animosity. This is perhaps understandable, given that de Backer’s solo project Gotye has been very successful while The Basics had been essentially blackballed from Australian radio. It’s all at odds with the cheery, historically-informed pop-rock that the group produces, which brings us to Keep You Friends Close: the biggest change for The Basics in this album is that they have let some of the drama and negativity that have clouded the group’s career affect the songwriting. Lead single With This Ship, which has been doing the rounds for a few months now, is probably the cheeriest moment on this album; the ramshackle Trouble In His Head is perhaps more representative of this album’s slow-burn melancholy. The good news is that the Basics have never sounded better: the mastering job performed at Abbey Road brings out their best, and Kris Schroeder’s vocals have matured to the extent that they actually now rival de Backer’s more famous falsetto. We’ve been waiting for The Basics to record a masterpiece to cement their deserved reputation for live shows; unfortunately, Keep Your Friends Close doesn’t quite get there. But it does show a group evolving and maturing, and despite the gloomy songwriting it’s also a great album.

****

CHAD PARKHILL

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