Terry – I’m Terry

Upset The Rhythm

When the lovely clear vinyl copy of this latest Terry album arrived, I have no idea who they were and from where they hailed; but on putting it on the stereo, it could only be Australian. There is something about the sound, about the slightly deadpan voices and tumbling wordplay, the spiky, scratchy singing and simple yet tricky song structures, a kind of cool loucheness that no other country can seem to replicate.

There are four members of the band, two boys and two girls, and I am assuming that they all sing as at points there are what sounds like a ragged sort of harmony effect in the strangest way. The boys slightly off-key and offhand, the girls deeper and a touch more tuneful. Opener “Carp Diem” is a blast, with a monochordal synth drone running up and down like a sleepy child as the singers lash together phrases in Latin, French, Spanish and from who knows where else, throwing them in the air like confetti just to see where they land. At one point, they request we ad infinitum to their stocking while a military drumbeat attempts to break the torpor deadlock. The line “C’est la vie, don’t I know it” just sounds world-weary yet tongue in cheek. They are clearly having fun and want to drag you in with them.

A lot of the tracks are served with simple rhythm tracks that belie their strengths. The basslines can be simplistic, but great fun, the sort of thing that would make you leap around the room as the drums try to beat down the door. The female voices are warm yet cool on “Bureau” and they know the secret to a song’s length. A drum workout leads to a finish that leaves you wanting more.

Although there are ten tracks listed on the sleeve, there are a few little interludes that are really cute and you kind of want them to grow into something else. A new age synth and rumba workout on the first side, a tiny eastern snippet appears unexpectedly and segues into a totally different track. You genuinely have no idea what will come next. The really Oz-sounding pipsqueak guitar of “The whip” is allied to an inane but terribly addictive “na-na, na-na-na-na” refrain that I defy you to resist. It will be sitting in your brainpan, nagging you for the next few hours, whether you like it or not.

It is struggle to think of comparisons, which is great. At times, I was reminded of Blank Realm, but that was just in the madcap tempo at times, and the willingness to give anything a punt and still make it sound like they aren’t really trying; and on “On Helen”, the first track on side two, maybe Sarah Records. The jaunty synth-led march with its ’60s psychedelic jangle break and adventurous spirit bring to mind some of Sarah’s better records, but the next track deflated that balloon and the band are onto the next thing. There is a touch of The Fall in the bassline to “Fortress” — but is that my mind telling me because the track is called “Fortress”? The band have a real tendency to beguile, everything seeming so simple, yet the playfulness of the words and the sense of fun are infectious, and draw the listener in to their mystery world.

The mood rather changes on “Ciao Goodbye”. For the first time, there is a touch of melancholy. The male voice leads, but the female voice in the background is insisting that we please be kind as the spaced-out guitar and bass are almost lulling. Unsurprisingly, the last track is a right banger, punkish and blunt, sweeping away any memory of the previous track in the blink of an eye — but is over in about a minute and a half. The whole album lasts about half an hour, but demands repeated listens. There is so much lyrically that you miss the first time and also, you just want to be part of their cool little universe once again.

This is a charming album, so full of changes of tempo and scattershot rhythmic twists and turns that you will be sticking it straight back on once it has finished. Cheers, Terry, for really brightening up my day.

-Mr Olivetti-