The Murlocs

★★★★ Bittersweet Demons ATO. CD/DL/LP

Glittering powerpop from King Gizzard associates.

Though two-fifths of The Murlocs ply their trade as part of über-prolific psych rock outliers King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, the Melbourne band operate within far neater lines. Their fifth album is sparkling powerpop of a classic vintage. Frontman Ambrose KennySmith’s theatrical flourishes bring to mind Sparks’ Russell Mael, while his blasts of harmonica skirt the band’s skinny tied ship round the earthier Canvey Island mudbanks of Dr. Feelgood. Indeed, it’s difficult to listen to too much of Bittersweet

Demons without imagining the group flouncing about on a re-run of Top Of The Pops or The Old Grey Whistle Test, but the crackling energy and embarrassment of melodic riches bursting from each song here makes for a persistently joyous listen.