*REVIEW* The Peep Tempel- Joy

9.5/10

Melbourne trio The Peep Tempel's latest album, is exciting, intense and oozes with kinetic energy. It's a further consolidation of their sound.

If I was to pick who sounded the most mongrel out of Tempel's vocalist Blake Scott and the drones Gareth Liddiard, I would be very hard pressed to.

The rural Australian dialect of the vocals is what these two acts share in common. Their fondness for suburban desolation, old fables and cynicism make them an act that offers an inward look at everyday     working class problems. 

Their new album "Joy" revels in these such themes. We have the opener "Kalgoorlie" in which Scott, in his signature half sung-spoken word narrative traverses the sparse and remote land of Kalgoorlie. 

The second track "Totality' riffs on the same ideas but features one of the best grooves on the album.

The pure hysteria of "We You Forgot", which sees Blake lament over "the rats THE RATS THEY'RE RAVENOUS". A song outlining the sheer horror of isolation in the outback. 

"Ray guns", here is where Blake Scott brings out his inner Johnny Rotten, with the accentuated lyrics reminding me the classic pistols track "Bodies".

So the first four tracks start of the album with a blast. Right now, The Peep Tempels are in a vanguard of their own, existing within their own musical universe.

The centrepiece of the album though "Constable" is utter perfection. It tells the tale of a police officer demoted to a rural town, here he narrates his everyday life, what he's seen, what he's done. It's all spoken word and is propelled by the wordless chorus that rises above. 

"Empathy will make your bones break, and you're heart bleed", "there's ghosts in my walls, but at least I own my own house". 

Scott quite often examines the human condition in his lyrics, and the complexities of being a man in the modern age, especially being an authoritative figure. 

The displacement of emotion to try and remain stoic in the heart of ugliness. The repressed feeling that as long as a material asset, like a house is owned, you can feel like someone. In this age of economic instability.

"Neuroplasticity" sees the band explore the existential crisis of a man trying to make sense of the world, trying to find joy in the crazy world. It's basically a call to arms to say, we have to adapt or die.

"Go Slow", heads down a soulful path, like a mid tempo swap soul blues track. With an insatiable bass line and key arrangement. This song I don't think tackles any deep issues here, it's just a great jam, a great band jam. 

"Brains" is pretty hard to pin down, Im not sure if it's about a maniac or not. It sends us on a slow descent into madness with the coda "I"VE BEEN LIVIN' ON YOUR BRAIN!!".. 

But like flashes of genius, they are brilliant and fleeting. This album lasts 37 minutes and not one minute is wasted on it. If you haven't checked this band yet, you need too! They are currently touring too, and are a forced to be reckoned with as a live act. 

Another brilliant release from this amazing trio.