the battery kids
Reviewed by: Monika Stasiak
Published: 26 August 2010
lp: we're just hanging while the rats all gather and the vultures circle overhead
The Battery Kids are emerging talent onto the local indie rock scene. After meeting five years ago as music students, they have received worthy attention from the likely audiences at Triple J and Three D, with their 2008 single Ghost Town getting to number 28 of Three D's top 100 for the year. We're Just Hanging while the Rats All Gather and the Vultures Circle Overhead is their first full-length album and it's mature for its age.
Producer Anj Malavazos has brought a wealth of experience to this project, with an impressive result. The frenetic live experience of the Battery Kids has been successfully caged and captured. The vocals are interesting, the guitars are both loud and melodic, and there's plenty of sound variety to keep listeners intrigued.
Shannon Juvan has a voice that will surely make its mark; he achieves a surprising range of interesting influences. 'Stay out of Trouble' has vocal reminiscences of The Darkness while 'Swinging on a Thread' is a bit Queens of the Stone Age, and 'Bringing the Big Guns' is a touch Radiohead. The vintage horror theme is both obvious and subtle: 'Dancing in the Shadows' features nice gothic undertones with Bowl Lipson on organ, and Shannon Simpson's drum work is strong on the anthemic 'Stay out of Trouble'. 'Ghost Town' and 'Underneath Her Skin' are the two tracks that have been pushed into the airplay spotlight, but everything on this album has something different to offer. Other standouts include ballad 'Ancient Curse' and the energetic catchy 'Numb, Blind, Death and Dumb'.
Given the depth of this first album, it will be exciting to see where the Battery Kids' potential leads them. They're looking to get some national exposure, and they could most in almost any direction with this much talent.
