Airbourne
Runnin’ Wild
11 Track, LP (2007, EMI)
Related: Airbourne.
It’s not that I’m totally inured to the fun and energy of unadorned cock-rock. In fact, at first glance Airbourne are an especially faithful reiteration of Australia’s pub band past. The guitars cut deep, the songs whip past faster than a highway from a car window, and Joel O’Keefe’s vocals contain just the right amount of grit. They appear to be respectfully channeling, rather than ineptly copying, their sleeve-worn influences – Zeppelin, AC/DC, the obvious choices.
However, their songs are extremely superficial. Whether they’re trying to be dumb or it really was the best they could come up with, the line, “Early next morning I was naked and beat/And as the sun was rising she was looking like a treat” from fourth track ‘Diamond in the Rough’, which also features a honey pot/vagina metaphor, is lazy. That is true not only of the lyrical content but the musical choices too. There is zero deviation from the orthodox riff-o-rama. It’s fun to rawk but ultimately there needs to be some quirk, aberration or substance behind all the bogan-y bluster. Unfortunately with Airbourne, what you see is all you get.
by Matt Giles
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