Tropical Fuck Storm

★★★ A Laughing Death in Meatspace JOYFUL NOISE. CD/DL/LP

Apocalyptic Aussie altoddness from members of The Drones.

As with their groan-inducing name, Aussie quartet Tropical Fuck Storm’s wonky rock discordance is not quite as provocative as they perhaps think. Nevertheless, there’s still plenty to be enjoyed here: the wry You Let My Tyres Down drags Nick Cave’s dark vision of Down Under into a grandiose and grungy squall. Their one male/three female configuration is pleasing too, with frontman Gareth Liddiard’s laconic holler underpinned by skronky synths and the writhing guitars of Erica Dunn. Chameleon Paint and Soft Power suggest fans of such disparate contemporaries as King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard and Courtney Barnett will surely enjoy the streamof-consciousness lyrical narratives on this kaleidoscopic-coloured debut. Elsewhere, The Future Of History and Antimatter Animals present feverish post-punk nightmares; restless, shadowy, disorientating. Such creative abandonment is sure to find favour in Australia’s currently thriving alt-rock underground.