Album: Backyard
Artist: Floodlights
Genre: #Indie #Rock
Sub-Genres: N/A
Label: N/A (Bandcamp)
Non-Airable Tracks: N/A
Description: Let’s preface this by saying I am not a huge fan of Indie Rock. Sure, I’ve listened to Arcade Fire, and a bit of Mogwai, and I know my Modest Mouse (early albums at least) and my Pixies and et. al., but all the same, I am not a purveyor of the genre by any means. So to do my review on an album that has received as little coverage as this one has is a bit presumptuous. But, it’s short, it’s twelve minutes, and one minute of the twelve minute release is a voice over track, and it’s actually pretty good.
This isn’t something groundbreaking, nor is it as flashy as the Tropical Fuck Storm (also from Australia) that I dearly love and enjoy. It isn’t even necessarily something artsy, with tons of chord progressions and wacky noises, nor something about lost loves, first kisses, little flashpans in the dark of our memories. I guess the best way to describe this release is… airy, in a free-spirited kind of way. An ode to the Australian countryside. The guitar work sounds vaguely Pixies-ish (as does anything surfer rock inspired), but its definitely different and unique enough to at least give it a second listen where you can actually pay attention to the riffs. The lyrics are nothing special, stuff about bars and open spaces, but… there’s a feeling to it. There’s a simplistic, “does what it set out to do” style to this EP that I really love, in a quaint, small-town sense. There’s no pretension, nothing forced, just an honest ode to the boonies with some interesting guitar riffs. And, I mean, for twelve minutes of your time, what more can you really ask for? It’s a pretty record about a local place. We can always use more of those in our lives.
Base Rating: 5
Good Stuff: +2
Final Rating: 7/10
Sounds Like: A not depressing, Australian Sun Kil Moon track. Like Glenn Tipton from Ghosts of the Great Highway but Australian and Surfer rock. I think I’m losing coherency here.
Reviewer’s Name: Abraham Aruguete
Date of Review: 2-9-2020