WIPE YOUR FACE - The Mess Makers (Off the Hip)
Sydney's Mess Makers do themselves a disservice by calling themselves The Mess Makers. It infers their music is, well, messy where it's really just no rougher than an unemployed man on a three-day tequila binge after winning Lotto, although totally artless.
I'm kinda fonda a blurb that brags about two band members having PhDs and the singer having ADD. Speaking of vocalist Rodney Todd, he's already a mini-legend in his own lifespan, be it chairing music trivia nights at Sydney's Rock and Roll Central (that'd be Annandale Pub) or creating havoc in various online forums. If you look hard enough, that's his Afro in The Spazzys' film clip for "My Boyfriend's Back." What you may not know is that he's also one of Sydney garage music's keenest fans. Let's hope that his idea of chronicling the scene in a book might end up being more than a pipedream. He also has another album in the wings with the similarly primal band The Unfuckable, so buy him a beer next time you see him. If you don't offer, he'll ask.
The Mess Makers have a head start in the garage band stakes with James McDonald (The Crusaders) and Ben Whitten (The Intercontinental Playboys) bending the strings. Masters of twang and fuzz respectively, these guys bring a lot to any party - mainly 'cos they understand the concept of light and shade. Engine room duties are adeptly handled by Naughty Stu (bass) and Jasmine Lipscomb (drums) who make a solid and economical paring.
Rodney's vocals teeter between sounding like a flat Dave Faulkner to Billy Childish losing his Medway airs and channeling some obscure inner-western Sydney dialect. "Snooze" could be his vocal high point or the last gasps of a drowning man, depending on your standpoint. There's a lot to enjoy about the insightful lyrics and Sydneysiders will appreciate references to the Golden Barley Hotel and the Newtown Jets.
Of course it's all about the songs and much of the musical and lyrical credits go to the singer, with Naughty Stu's "Gurus Shirt" (yes, it is a song about a "Stoneage Romeos" shirt that no longer fits) the notable exception. Songs about boredom, an asthma attack, smart arse know-it-alls ("The Expert On Everything") and Blacktown (called "Blacktown", strangely enough) live here. There's a Modern Lovers feel to some of them (the terrific "Discomfort" being a case in point) and a minimalist production ethos that suits things just fine.
Unsurprisingly in in the true spirit of Garage Music, the album was recorded in a day.
None of these tunes wear out their welcome (11 of the 12 clock in at less than three minutes) and just in case you didn't catch them the first time through, they're all reprised in glorious mono.Ideal for listeners with ADD.
An album with character and a real rough charm, neither of which are qualities you can fake. –
The Barman
