- Your mates from the skate park, Hockey Dad are following up 2016’s debut full length Boronia with sophomore offering Blend Inn. Kicking straight into twelve tracks of quintessential Aussie surf rock is single Homely Feeling which pummels you from all sides. Thrashing around in the whitewash the boys pair honest, socially anxious lyrics with ringing guitar slashes and stomping tom rolls.
Nestled right in the middle, slow burner Whatever wallows, languid and sun drenched, slowing the pace of the record to a crawl. A necessary and deliberate marker, of course, keeping their listeners engaged and not lost in a swirl of the ferocious surf-rock that sandwiches the track on either side.
Closing cut Eggshells stands alone in the mess of scuzzy noise. A far cry from the high energy surf rock Hockey Dad have built their reputation on, the track is smoothed by a surprising vulnerability care of soaring vocal harmonies and Zach Stephenson’s reverb glazed crooning, proving that even grommets hurt, too.
Hockey Dad’s Blend Inn has a familiar ring to it that I can’t quite place my finger on; it’s as if You Am I or Grinspoon took their younger brothers to the coast and held their heads under the water. Frenetic guitar work and fervid, driving percussion is the raucous yet calculated backbone of Hockey Dad’s catalogue, and hell, they’ve got it down to an art. The duo know how to whip a mosh pit into a frenzy and write bite sized surf pop gems, but I think I’ve stayed too long at the beach. There's only so much summery indie pop you can hear, no matter how finely crafted, before it all starts to sound suspiciously similar.
- Fiona Priddey.