CONTACT
- Lords of Gravity (Off the Hip)
This band has absolutely nothing to do with a corny motocross movie that goes
by the same name. With members whose curriculum vitae include the Seminals
Rats, the Hands of Time, the Crusaders and the Stoneage Hearts, you 
probably
already know what to expect from this Melbourne crew.
But first, a sermon: I can’t go along with those who diss so-called
garage music simply on the score of it being too self-consciously “authentic
sounding”. If you’re going to work in the genre of ‘60s-inspired
garage rock, why employ contemporary production values? Valve amps and analogue
recording gear all the way – and if you can’t afford going to
Toe Rag Studios, cheat a lot and use technology to sound like you could. It’s
a dichotomy to think studios have been churning out all manner of rock and
roll music since the ‘50s but no end of people still want to wind the
clock back (ironically enough, often using ProTools). But there was a certain
honest and naïve charm to much of the music coming out back when the
Stones were still taking a piss in service station carparks.
There's a theory you might want to consider (and flame
away if you disagree) and it goes like this: Back then, garage bands distilled
their finest moments on 7" singles, padding out albums (if they were
lucky enough to make one) with cover tunes. Nowadays, a band might throw on
the odd cover to define what they do but, more often than not, make more cohesive
and listenable long-players.
Bottom line from all this pontificating is is that sounding "authentic"
will only get you so far. The songs have to stand up as well.
On the score of aural sophistication (or lack thereof) most of “Gravity”
might have been lifted from any of the “Ugly Things” or “Devil’s
Children” (all worthy Aussie garage compiles), but that’s only
part of the picture. You can’t get away with just sounding good - these
are excellent tunes, to boot.
But let’s get the covers out of the way first; there are three of them.
Aussie '60s band Peter and The Silhouettes’ “Claudette Jones”
is outstanding in these hands, with the judicious application of a little
fuzz and a lascivious Ian Wettenhall vocal killer elements. While I’ll
remain wedded to the Wet Taxis’ Siimon Knuckey-driven version of The
Atlantics’ “C’mon”, the Lords turn in a credible take.
“Save the Nation” sounds fine, too. No complaints about their
take on the Masters' "Poor Boy". The more early Masters Apprentices
covers the world gets to hear, the better.
Of course it's the original tunes that should determine if any band lives
or dies, and lovers of Vox six-strings, Fairfisa runs and gnarly vocals will
have absolutely no problems with these. "Where You Gonna Run" (from
guitarist/organist/second vocalist Evan Miller), "Funnel Web" (a
very Crusaderesque song by singer/bassist Ian Wettenhall) and the jangly "Cheating
Kind" (a Miller-Wettenhall co-write) are as good as anything on the last
Stoneage Hearts album (and that's a big wrap).
The Lords' arrangements are so perfectly reflective of the feel of the best
Australian '60s rock - a derivative but rowdy mix of folky-via-surf-and-beat,
with smatterings of fuzz on top - that it's uncanny, but that's probably down
to them owning amazing record collections and being in love with the stuff.
Honorable mention also to Off the Hip's own studio (behind their shop in Carlton,
Melbourne) and in-house producer Ernie O. It's a combination that's irresistible
with these sorts of sounds.
The artwork is a dead giveaway on the score of retro: The Lords of Gravity
are decked out in aviator gear, circa 1910. Nifty look, albeit a little uncomfortable
to replicate under stage lights (so they wisely don't), but if there's a second
album brewing they might consider calling it "Those Magnficent Men In
Their Fuzz Machines".
By now you've probably worked out what airspace these Lords of Gravity occupy.
If your taste is in a similar place, see if you don't take to "Contact"
like Biggles to a model bi-plane kit. –
The Barman
