Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By

About

The Drones’ second album not only won the inaugural Australian Music Prize but confirmed the scrappy Perth-via-Melbourne quartet as one of the country’s most visceral rock bands. Tapping into the lurch and squall of Crazy Horse alongside the bracing volatility of punk, the band opened this nearly hour-long 2005 affair with what would become their signature song. Written after the loss of singer/guitarist Gareth Liddiard’s mother, “Shark Fin Blues” is a whiplashing introduction to The Drones’ live-in-the-room balance of chaos and control, riding multiple crests of quiet and climax alongside Liddiard’s ragged vocal glory. Just four years later, it was voted the greatest Australian song of all time by a cross-section of fellow musicians. The rest of the record is equally impactful, from the surprising melodic hit of “Baby” to the rustic country-blues sprawl of “Sitting on the Edge of the Bed Cryin’.” Flourishing in the lineage of underground Aussie icons like The Scientists and The Birthday Party, The Drones only grew up in intensity and ambition through their 2016 swan song, <i>Feelin Kinda Free</i>. From there, Liddiard and bassist Fiona Kitschin jumped right into Tropical Fuck Storm, amplifying this band’s sheer brashness via scrambled digital effects and grotesque doomsday imagery. TFS quickly achieved what The Drones had not: an overseas following that rivaled their fanbase back home.

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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