Wacky, winky-at-the-camera music is seldom enjoyable. I wasn’t really a fan of this at first, it was a bit like spending 30 minutes in the company of Australians, or the the usual muggy, wacky CBeebies helmet; your twatty beg mate who wants to have his birthday party at Pat Sharp’s Fun House live Immersive Experience, but you all have to come dressed up in “controversial” fancy dress; who talks about cotching in his yard even though he’s 45 and from Buckstone, Edinburgh. That sort of thing.
Terry are a band of 2 boy-girl couples from Melbourne, Oz. Described as something as an Aussie indie supergroup, they are respectively associated with bands such as Constant Mongrel, School Of Radiant Living, Mick Harvey Band, Primo, Eastlink, Total Control, Russell St Bombings, UV Race, Dick Diver and Total Control.
The press release was something else, describing the album as being full of “wish fulfilment, critiqued characters, memorial muscle and historical hustle” (burps sick in mouth). It also describes Terry, in the third person – meaning the band, like it refers to some sort of knob called Keith, or indeed Terry – as a “latent man of mystery.” Hmm, on this basis I decree that perhaps this Terry’s a bit of a helmet, I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.
‘Start the Tape‘s repetitive monotone refrain “the boys in blue are no nonsense but no nonsense just won’t hold up/aaaaugggh, aaauggghaaaaah/aaaaugggh, aaauggghaaaaah” (imagine an obvious monotone of a hipster here going uuuh, uuuh, uuh) didn’t make me stroke my chin and bash my Guardian, as to me it was just kind of base and irritating. Listening to the previous debut album, ‘Terry HQ‘ , I felt it was a lot snarkier, sharper and brattish.
There are gems on this new record, though. Single ‘Glory‘ is an easy banger, and I can’t deny that ‘Give up the Crown”s lively garage rock profanity and sass is hugely enjoyable. ‘Homage‘ begins with an adorably pathetic baby’s drum machine beat which gives way to a genuinely interesting late evening screen-to-the-skies keyboard fade out.
On occasion Remember Terry reminded me of the statement-setting early work of the much-missed sharp tongued snark-merchants Bromheads Jacket. However, Remember Terry consists of too many just-about-to-collapse, seemingly no effort Jengas of seemingly skeletal songs, lyrics that fail to really resonate, repeated hooks spoke-sang in an Aussie monotone à la Courtney Barnett, but unfortunately bereft of any of the genius and genuine pathos that artist delivers with – yes – seemingly no effort.
Remember Terry is out on 7th July through Upset The Rhythm.
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