Syrup: Post Television | 4ZZZ Brisbane 102.1FM

- Back in the days of BC (Before COVID) two Meanjin/Brisbane fellas released an EP, The Sponge, and this reviewer remarked: “Where does Syrup go from here? … For those keen to know where crafted pop music may be going, it’s clear they will be worth following.” The crafters of those pop tunes, Harry Pratt and Henry Anderson have taken the next step – following up a very well regarded debut, and as this reviewer has noted recently the “common knowledge” (common it may be, knowledge it usually is not) about second releases is that they are “difficult” or “disappointing” or “dismissed”. A three D strike and out.

Anderson’s vocals are seductive and ooze around the beats Pratt creates like a rich chocolate fondue coating the lyrics which essay a series of thoughts about the nature of modern communication via an omnipresent media and how our choices and decisions are often moulded without us actively engaging in the process. It’s deep stuff on these four tracks –and if that opening sounds like an abstract for a scholarly dissertation and is liable to put you off listening to the tunes– don’t let it do so. You really can just sink into Anderson’s smooth baritone and let the melody wash over you.

If anything, Anderson’s development as a singer has heightened the sonic resemblance to a blending of Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry and Flowers / Icehouse’s Iva Davies and enhanced his style of phrasing and delivery. Opening this collection is their pre-EP release single Transparent (and the accompanying animated video is a creation of Anderson as well – talented lad!) It has a strong groove right from the off, and at the three-quarter mark, a “false ending” that transfers the way a skilled DJ drops a beat to heighten the endorphins on the dance floor.

Kaleidoscope was the advance single from earlier this year and the Chic / Nile Rodgers-esque guitar (also a contribution from Anderson) drives this funky number that breaks away like a sporty fast car tripping along an ocean-side road. And just as soon as the vehicle has zoomed off into the distance, there’s a subtle tempo change to minor key based Habits stalking along like a panther pacing its cage in the zoo. It sounds as dangerous as it looks and shows just how well Pratt and Anderson know how to thread an EP together by using the rhythm track as framework and not supporting crutches (as others are known to do, propping up weak song writing or even weaker, auto-tune enhanced vocals.)

Ending the EP is Spaces with some very lush '70's sounds as Pratt’s arrangements build around the synth strings very similar to the early disco “Munich Sound” of Giorgio Moroder and that beat that seems to have been running non-stop since the start of the EP. That’s a clever trick, it almost feels like you are listening to a dance floor version of a “serious” orchestral work with four movements.

There’s an obvious comparison to Australia’s other male duo funky groovers Client Liaison but where they emphasise the glamorous sparkles of the '70s and '80s, Syrup take that slightly darker tone – perhaps more Europa than America. Thankfully, there is space in the music world for both styles to complement and enhance each other, and Syrup’s Post Television definitely enhances their well-crafted song writing credentials.

- Blair Martin.