First an apology: it’s taken me ages to find the time to write this down, but “Brokenhearted” is a constant in the car, revving us all up when we … er. Go to the shops. Go to the beach. Go visit me mum. You know.
Oh yeah. What a fabulous band the Systemaddicts are. One of Adelaide's best. Yeah, you’ll hear fragments of Birdman in them, you’ll hear the big brassy sound of The Saints (especially their third album) but most of all you’ll hear the urgency and freshness that you got from some of those early ‘60s British explosion outfits. Vim, verve, smarts and relevance.
There’s 11 songs here, only one I don’t much like, and that’s probably because it’s surrounded by a bunch of urgent, excited songs which pluck as much at your brain as your dancing shoes. Live, they’re thrilling, every song a cracker, a buzzing ball of energetic limbs, sneakers and strings.
If you’re an I-94 Bar regular reader and you don’t already have this one, I can’t help you, not really. “Brokenhearted on the Nullarbor” is not only an essential purchase but one you’ll be using to gee yourself up out of your cancer bed in a few years, or the nurses will be using to snap you out of that coma you mysteriously acquired as you rode your motorbike at 128 in a 50 zone and flipped, headphones on, volume custom-cranked to 12, dancing through the air to The Systemaddicts.
Play it and weep. This is what rock’n’roll should be like. Don’t argue, buy it and dance.
