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Music

Introducing: Beef Jerk

Whenever I hear about music that is “perfect for the Australian summer”, it is usually in reference to dance music which makes sense considering our country’s tendency to ramp up into party mode come December. Yet, I’d like to present another contender for the role of Summer Music Curator. They won’t ask you to throw your hands up in the air. They won’t insist on being sexy and knowing it. They are Beef Jerk, and all they want is another schooner before the pub shuts for the night.

Beef Jerk

Whether you’re road trippin’, schooner guzzlin’ or just doing some plain old thinkin’, Beef Jerk is the band to have on as they navigate the ordinary with their fun indie pub rock.

Yes, I know Happy has covered about the band before, but we didn’t get to go into glorious detail back then, so lets get stuck into them! Revelling in their lo-fi glory, Beef Jerk are to me what the Aussie summer is really about; having a few easy beers, wandering the country with a few close mates in search of adventure and making the most of your free time without making too much of a fuss. The Sydney band aren’t exactly revolutionary, but they do have a vision, and that vision is that of the life of the regular man searching to carve out his own humble corner of the world as it continues to grow rapidly around him. Well, that’s my impression.

Beef Jerk, (which is either based on the food or a terrible innuendo), are a five piece band from good old Sydney, and although they haven’t released much music since last year they make the most out of their minimalist rock n’ roll. Their last release Schooners 7″ is a good place to get your first taste of Beef Jerk, the three track player is easily digestible and does considerably well to establish the band and what they’re about in the space of nine minutes. The pop friendly Schooners is about, you guessed it, schooners of beer. It’s a pretty little ditty, though not the most revolutionary song ever written, it does manage to be charming in it’s relatable nature.

Holidays more or less follows the same tune, the guitars jangle away as the lazy vocals drone over the track. Fittingly enough, this song would be a great addition to any road trip mix tape. Even though it’s only a song that just describes aspects of road travel, I must give props to the lyric “Passing by the Big Banana, I said we should stop but you didn’t botha”, it so rightly captures the tiredness and apathy developed over those long trips. The subtly titled Life’s Fucking Horrible is the most engaging of the three.

The rolling snares and flurry of guitars battling out over each other gives the song a sense of urgency whilst representing the anxiety portrayed throughout the song in the lyrics. “I’m happy to wear my place in history. And I wanna know in time if you’ll miss me” seem to paint the picture of a man at ease with his insignificance, yet struggles with the possibility of being forgotten. The half mumbled way of singing is hard to make out most of the time.

If that is your jam, then be sure to get down to Jam Gallery for JAWS this Friday 12 December. Beef Jerk will be there alongside Day Ravies, Bearhug and Nature Strip. Fun!

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