There are so many bands right now (be thankful that wasn’t written as “rn”) that play super-distorted, plodding songs. There are almost as many of them as there are comic book movies, they are that ubiquitous. It’s hard to blame the people for doing popular things, so it’s hats off for Twelve Point Buck for at least cranking the sound system to a different tune. Well, almost.
Blue Mountains foursome Twelve Point Buck serve up a hearty offering of fuzzed out, lo-fi rock with their sophomore EP As Warm As Toast. Pass the butter please.
Twelve Point Buck’s music, as they say themselves, is slow and fuzzy. Whilst that description is pretty apt, the Blue Mountaineers – for they are from the Blue Mountains – manage to add in some grated grunge and pieces of roasted rock into the musical mix.
The highlight of their sophomore EP As Warm As Toast is the longest track, Lover. Almost twice as long as any of the other three songs on board, Lover bursts open with a riff that explodes like a fat man snoring. Lumber, lumber, peak. The hook, eerily and extremely familiar, is full of a latent charm that brings the otherwise (intentionally) dull background party tunes to pleasure. That is actually just the song. Well, most songs are just the the best bit, but this song is best bit plus some vocals (well, some oohs and some aahs).
All the chatter about Twelve Point Buck, is by the way, sort of thrown out the door with Girl Band. ‘Sort of’, because the song starts rather pacily but the band can’t resist and after probably thirty seconds of a healthy beats-per-minute ratio, Girl Band descends into elephant-esque strumming and cymbal bashing. Repeat that whole sequence again and you’ve got a song.
Girl Band is rather playful too, with the lyrics going something along the lines of “He’s got balls and I’ve got balls, we’re girls” sung harmoniously by two females (guitarist Tahn and singer Ashley). Yep that’s right, new age ‘n shit – Twelve Point Buck has four members, and two of ‘em are girls.
Then there’s Happy Djong, a track with a bonus sample of a girl speaking Japanese. That’s really all you could ask for, but Twelve Point Buck just can’t stop giving. A solid little lo-fi number is Happy Djong, a tight drum beat twirling with an even tighter riff, before splashing and thrashing comes along to vent the steam built up by being so tight in the first place.
Forte Piano gallops in as the final track, and quite unlike its name might suggest isn’t actually a stronghold of clavichords. This song may be slow, but it throws an interesting pair of dice in the mix, changing out distortion for ambience and emptiness. Secretly joined by soft, misty vocals and a subdued, bit-part guitar, Forte Piano introduces an air of chillaxing, watery pop.
Girl Band and Happy Djong seem rather rote, as grungey, lo-fi tunes currently served by many of Twelve Point Buck’s local contemporaries. Lover and Forte Piano, songs in two rather different genres, give a glimpse at what roads the band knows and is interested in exploring, and As Warm As Toast is a promising marker, one that may well bear some fruit.
