- After several releases exploring quiet, contemplative solo piano performance, Sydney’s Angie dives back into her rock and roll roots while navigating a host of new terrain with her new record The Underling. Recorded in Athens with local producer John Vulgaris, It’s an Aegean odyssey in league with Wishbone Ash's opus Argus but with more than a dash of the haphazard songwriting attitudes of the Stones and Royal Trux and the sentimentality of 90’s alt-rock bands like The Breeders. Dueling guitar lines, echoing cries, drenched guitar effect soundscapes and a pummelling rhythm section are wrapped up in an unpretentious but still progressive rock guise.
John Vulgaris provides a reliable and solid swampy atmosphere: even the most outlandish effect driven guitar solos are submerged in the solid confines of pumping drums and bass lines. This House (Athens Reprise) even revisits a quiet track from Angie’s subdued and largely acoustic Shyness album, but this time around it's a fierce rock and roll burner. It should come as no surprise, Blood In My Eyes muddies the waters from the get go, laying out a violent Mediterranean street song caked with psyched out grime.
My Energy takes up the pace further, along with a backup singer it delivers a deeply melodic chorus. Admirably, even the most chaotic moments manage to hold onto a strong and pronounced rhythm through the dense forest of tapered guitar feedback, distortion and reverb. Angie’s vocals are alternatingly clear or steeped in a distant, indecipherable realm under the layers of echo and the pronounced rhythm section. It builds to a chaotic chorus which lands on a till more chaotic echo meltdown and a final exhausted slap of spring reverb.
Your Style begins with a welcome break from the swamp song, turning to a bright, jangly guitar pop ...which soon retreats back into the familiar depths of effect driven sludge. A Century Of All This is the most despondent and lofi of all tracks on The Underling, abandoning the powers of the rhythm section Angie steps out to seize upon a moment of solitary lament. Just a guitar, voice, effects and a distant but familiar whisper move in and out. The track is again laden in burned-out echoes. One would think all the infinite, downward spiral echos would get tired, but they have an endearing and well executed charm throughout the record.
The Underling never strays too far out of a comfortable rock and roll line, while still working a subtle distinctiveness into its sounds. It stays very melodic and straight throughout the swampy selection of caustic and loosely wound cuts. These are delivered with an immediate punch which sits comfortably outside the bucket of lo-fi garage scuzz.
- Jaden Gallagher.