- One of Australia’s most critically acclaimed bands, Augie March have returned with their 6th LP, Bootikins. Best known for their 2006 breakthrough single, One Crowded Hour (arguably one of the greatest songs of all time), Augie March have continued their stellar career, earning a cult-following as well as the adulation of critics and their peers. On their latest offering, Augie March have made an eccentrically beautiful album like only they know how. Unlikely to yield another commercial hit for the five-piece, Bootikins is a glorious composite of intricate arrangements and deft poetry unparalleled in the music industry.
The album begins like an episode of Twin Peaks. An ethereal synthesiser plays a mournful intro before opener, Fake Jive, begins in earnest. A loquacious tune, it takes a few listens for the lyrics to unfurl. While lines such as, “You don’t trust any man to shake your hand / Without taking a thumb or finger,” and, “Have you heard the poets lately? / They don’t get a weekly, a monthly, a bi-annual / Now you may cry but I doubt you will,” are acerbic in their sentiment, lines like, “How the vilest scent will linger / While the sweetest pass away so swiftly,” are sorrowful in their delivery.
Undoubtedly one of the greatest Australian lyricists, Glenn Richards’ savant-like gift for words is as salient as ever on third track, The Third Drink. What is most impressive is how his lyrics manage to be simultaneously erudite and colloquial. This is most evident on The Third Track. With its theme of threes, The Third Drink jumps between topics like British cult-film, The Third Man to Lord Shiva’s omnipotent third eye, to the catalytic beverage in a regretful drinking session. Even if one’s knowledge of noir-cinema and Hindu deities is basic (or, as in my case, virtually non-existent) surely there are few who can’t relate when Richards bluntly laments, “The third drink gets me into trouble”.
Following the ramshackle title track about the infamous exploits of Roman Emperor, Caligula (hence, Bootikins), When I Am Old is an arresting, standout track. A melancholic dirge about the throes of being elderly. Lines such as, “I pay the obituaries special attention / Which one of my neighbours has earned a mention” and “Old men see what they’re leaving behind / And thank small mercies for going blind” hit particularly hard. As a writer, Richards is closer in relation to the poet species than the lyricist, with When I Am Old reading more like a poem than the lyrics to a pop-song. Not to undermine their musical acumen; catchy-choruses, subtle arrangements and enjoyable guitar riffs do pervade the album. It’s just that unlike most bands, Augie March manage to bring a so much more to the table.
- Jonathan Cloumassis.