It’s obvious that Miniature Submarines is all about catharsis for Mark Nelson. Although he’s perhaps better known as the bass player in Melbourne’s mutant post-punk outfit The Stabs, in his solo guise Nelson is almost unrecognisable as the man who fronted ‘Cabin Fever’ and ‘Yellow Blues’ on one of this year’s most electric records, Dead Wood. Moving away from the grit and blues that characterises The Stabs’ music, Miniature Submarines has its touchstones rooted in the latter output of the No Wave movement, when Sonic Youth began to become less serrated and acts like Dinosaur Jr., Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Nirvana began to infiltrate the wider musical consciousness.

‘The Little Room Under The Stairs’ – the A-side of Miniature Submarines’ debut 7” – is ostensibly brighter than anything The Stabs have recorded. It stands in stark contrast to the Birthday Party-esque sound of Dead Wood, employing a haunting glockenspiel over insistent, gravely chords and guitar licks that end in squalls of feedback. Lyrically, Nelson paints the picture of someone crippled by the throes of depression, assumedly confined to that little room under the stairs. “I’m having trouble getting out of bed,” he drawls. “I’ve got the feeling that we’d all be better off dead.” On the flipside, ‘I Heard That You Turned Into A Loser, Baby’ sounds like something straight out of the Autolux songbook, but I’m guessing that’s purely coincidence. The wails of Cobain-like feedback reappear here, but this time it’s Nelson’s bass playing that is the star attraction. Almost double the time of ‘The Little Room Under The Stairs’, the B-side gives Nelson the space to explore tension within his music and although it’s circular and repetitive, it’s never boring.

Both of these tracks are anchored by drummer Monika Fikerle (Love of Diagrams, Baseball), whose no-bullshit style and solid rhythms is integral in driving Nelson’s compositions forward. She heightens the fervent energy that lies at the heart of the Miniature Submarines’ debut offering, which feels like a set of songs Nelson needed to record.

by Dom Alessio