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Beaches

Beaches
Beaches

12 Track, LP (2008, Mistletone Records)
Related: Beaches.


Beaches’ songs begin where other bands’ finish. Most musicians reserve the big, rousing guitar chug-along for the epic outro, but the Melbourne five-piece base their whole debut album around this intensity.

It’s genius really, because it cuts right to the chase. No boring verse-chorus-verse structures here to detract from the mighty onslaught of three guitars, bass and drums all revving in unison. Driven along by the pulse beat kraut-rock motorik of the rhythm section, guitars weave, drone and chime in a shimmering kaleidoscope of sound. Lyrics, when they surface, act as a punctuation to the mood conjured by the instruments.

Antonia’s lead guitar alternates between the sparkling Flying Nun-inflected melodies of their signature tune ‘Sandy’ and the psychedelic road-trip jams of ‘Free Way’. If there is an overarching theme to Beaches’ music it is a desire for freedom and being awed by the beauty and terror of nature – not themes often explored by today’s indie rockers.

Being trendy or fitting into marketable pigeonholes is not what Beaches are interested in though. They eschew self-conscious pop culture references and posturing in favour of simplicity and the pure joy of creating music that is timeless and uplifting.

This exuberance and lightness of touch is perfectly captured in the production of the album. Every single note rings out clearly and the layering of instruments never becomes too dense or impenetrable. The sequencing of the songs evokes a journey, yet each song remains distinct in its own right.

So grab a date and a bottle of wine and head for the nearest beach shack. Beaches may well be the perfect soundtrack for this (and every other) summer.

by René Schaefer

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Tracklisting
  • 1.   Two Days Passed By
  • 2.   Hoedown
  • 3.   Sandy
  • 4.   The Rip
  • 5.   Horizon
  • 6.   Eternal Sphere
  • 7.   Ramblin’
  • 8.   Free Way
  • 9.   Vikings
  • 10.   The Sky Was White
  • 11.   The Walkers
  • 12.   Field of Dreams
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