Review of Shadows Evolve Album by the morning after girls
The Morning After Girls
Shadows Evolve
Album Review
Originally from Melbourne, The Morning After Girls really seemed to find their identity – not to mention three pivotal band members – upon moving across country to Sydney two years ago. If anything, this change of scenery gave them a much wider vision that has enabled them to construct one of the finest debuts of 2006.
Now before anyone starts throwing stones at me with the words "You", "Haven't", "Done", "Your", and "Homework" scratched on them, yes, this scribe is fully aware that almost all of the thirteen tracks on 'Shadows Evolve' have seen the light of day at one time or another and that two of the songs – 'Hidden Spaces' and 'Straight Thru You' – hail from 2003 when the Morning After Girls were just a duo of Martin B. Sleeman and Sacha Lucashenko.
If anything, this initial phase of their make-up obviously proved to be the catalyst for all of the ideas that make 'Shadows Evolve' THE only rock'n'roll record you would need to own this year. In places it sounds like it could have been conjured up somewhere around the back end of the 1960s, particularly the aforementioned 'Hidden Spaces' which owes more than a nodding homage to the whole of The Flying Burrito Brothers back catalogue. Similarly the vocal harmonies on both the title track and recent single 'Run For Our Lives' are part-Clark and McGuinn, part-Mamas And Papas and more recently slightly indebted to 'Come Down' period Dandy Warhols. Turn down the guitars and you can actually feel the West Coast breeze make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. But then turning down the guitars would defeat the whole object of this record.
Because when TMAG get into full on psyche-rock mode they stand out like a big red thumb that's just come out worst in a battle with a steamroller. 'Always Mine' is the nearest anyone has got to the blessed-out sonic ecstasy of My Bloody Valentine for almost a decade, while 'Hi-Skies' could be Supergrass' 'Richard III' beefed-up, dressed in leather with boot firmly steered towards anyone's backside who has the audacity to tell you this music's too loud.
In fact, except on the worn down blues of 'Slowdown', where Sleeman asks "Have you ever felt so down?" over a melancholy guitar twang, this record will make you want to get dressed, go out and take on the world.
In a subtle way of course…
8/10
Dom Gourlay
Other Information
Label: Best Before
Released: 26th June
