(Die! Boredom/MGM)

Beautiful? Girls? Ziggurats? I must be missing something

Another Sydney band who’ve benefited from Triple J attention in over the years is The Beautiful Girls. This third album is no exception, but it also sees them attracting interest from more mainstream audiences. With a new drummer on board, they seem to have kicked their laidback roots-n-reggae rock into a clearer focus, in effect honing their usually cruisy style with a crisper, more immediate, dare I say, poppier approach. We’re shown that up front with opener Royalty, where the guitars come on more angular and brighter than you’d expect, while still referring back to a reggae lope. It’s a technique that also sharpens up tracks like I Thought About You and Under A Southern Sky. The tighter, higher pop profile in a roots context is bound to bring some comparisons to The Police in tracks like Sir Your Fashion Has The Cold Heart Of A Killer. But there’s other things going on here too, from the old-school, singalong reggae of Bring Me Your Cup and the easy-going, summery sway of Spanish Town, complete with cool horns, to a mellow cover of Johnny Clegg’s Bela. The three guys who make up this band are looking pretty good at the moment. 

***½

BILL HOLDSWORTH

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