DON'T TALK ABOUT US - THE REAL POP RECORDINGS OF THE SOMELOVES 1985-89 - The Someloves (Half a Cow)
There's pop and then there's powerful, emotive pop. If you haven't heard this one, get a grip and make a beeline for your nearest Ma and Pa store, or whip out your credit card and buy it online.
This will be the missing link in the chain that's Dom Mariani's career for many, coming as it did at the tail end of the '60s-inspired (and inspirational) Stems and as the amazingly consistent and persistent DM3 were getting off the ground. Of course, that's not to play down the contribution of Mariani's partner-in-powerpop, ex-Lime Spiders guitarist Darryl Mather. Of course Mather was to go onto other things (Orange Humble Band and sports management, to name two) but Dom's more enduring and high-profile track record will be an easier reference point for most .
The Spiders antecedent is a little misleading, too, as Mather bailed when his bandmates moved into hardline acid punk territory. A driver in that band's earlier days, his captivation had been at the hands of more classic pop '60s influences like The Creation, The Easybeats and the Small Faces. Pairing him with Dom in The Someloves produced rich guitar pop, with a leaning towards lushness without ever falling over the edge into mush.
The Someloves had a couple of configurations but were intended to be a studio-only project. As is the case when you get into bed with a major label, the people with the pursestrings had other ideas. (Being used up by a major is some sort of ritual similar to hair band roadies and their "no head, no backstage pass" ethos). The label loved the first album and were entertaining plans of a second but the two principals' refusal to tour put paid to that. So no cigar. As the exhaustive liners reveal, Sydney-based Mather wasn't into the idea of going out live and Mariani was all but wiped out by the demise of The Stems (and had his feet planted firmly on the ground in geographically-removed Perth too). Still, the wallflowers left an indelible legacy.
If you thought the original album on Mushroom's subsidiary White Label seemed out-of-kilter with (and much more lightweight than) everything else that was going on at the time, you're not alone. But it has aged damn well. The liners reveal that Dom and Daryl succumbed to the temptation of varispeeding the tracks just a notch to bring up the brightness after labouring over repeated playbacks. Am I just imagining things or does it all sound a bit gritty for the tapes being restored to original speed? Possibly, but it has been mastered properly this time around, now those mysterious Morlocks who work in darkened studios have come to grips with transferring tape to small silver metal discs.
The surprising thing in the liners is that Mather took a year off work and moved to Perth, perfecting the songs with his writing partner in six-days-a-week rehearsals. The album was recorded in Perth and then the pair took off to North Carolina where they spent six weeks polishing it with producer Mitch Easter. You'd expect it to sound contrived but it doesn't, just well put together with an ear for detail and a great deal of care.
The original album is reprised but there's also a bonus disc in the package, which means you hear outtakes, the non-LP single ("It's My Time" b/w the superb "Don't Talk About Us") and a demo. The album opener "Melt" should still make you do so like a Pommy in a June heat wave and if you ever pondered the origins of DM3's "Little Town Crier" you can find it for yourself here. If you can't appreciate "Know You Now", also in its Someloves form, well there's no hope for you.
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The Barman
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