Those that know me will tell you that I've been banging on about the Australian music scene for a couple of years now. Some of the best stuff I've heard recently has originated down-under, and one or two (Tame Impala immediately springs to mind) are starting to break through in the northern hemisphere.
This album was released in late 2011 and, shamefacedly, I admit to only recently discovering it. Very glad I did. Lost Animal is the project of Australian musician Jarrod Quarrell, whose hypnotic songs sound utterly suspended in time and free of genre - an album that’s a strange mix of electronic pop and global influences reimagined on Quarrell’s keyboards
Each track is stuffed with ideas, the music itself sounding like something David Byrne, Brian Eno, and Beck might come up with, while Quarrell’s vocals sound like a cross between early-70s Lou Reed and Tom Petty speaking, rather than singing, enigmatic lyrics
By using almost exclusively keyboards, Quarrell could’ve easily dug himself into a musical hole, but he’s able to avoid most of the pitfalls of keyboard-heavy albums—at no point does this sound like a synth-pop album, or an under-produced set of demos. While the strange sounds and lyrics may initially turn off some potential listeners, the songs themselves are strongly structured, with the experimentation serving mostly as a way to keep things interesting rather than being the focus.
Ex Tropical is a unique album that combines a lot of sounds you wouldn’t think could work well together, making for a compelling, if sometimes challenging, listen. But stick with it, for suddenly you realise you are hooked!
You can get the album here
Say No To Thugs
Lose The Baby
Greylands (Live)
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