Dirt Farmer
Dirt Farmer EP
Reviewed on 1 May 2012
Rated 7 out of 10
Key Track: Johnny Marble
Listen to music now on MOG
As a name, Dirt Farmer seems unfitting for the music these five Melbourne boys create; there’s nothing dirty about what’s going on here. On their debut EP, Dirt Farmer disregard the scuzzier aspects of rock and roll, and focus their attention directly on candy-coloured hooks.
‘Kick It’ bounces along inoffensively. ‘Johnny Marble’ is instantly engaging, and if it weren’t for the vocal hook being lifted directly from a Desert Sessions-turned-Queens of the Stone Age track; the song would stand as a perfect example of breezy rock and roll. Elsewhere, Stuart Barlow’s vocal hooks are engaging, as in the chorus’ of both ‘Real Young’ and ‘Showgirl’.
The bright pastoral tones in the production add a deft touch to the EP; slight harmonicas, horns, guitar flourishes and a myriad of compelling vocal harmonies assert Dirt Farmer’s penchant for well-crafted pop songs. If there were anything to accuse the band of, it would be the lack of danger throughout the EP. Barlow’s airy voice doesn’t lend itself to rock and roll’s harder edges, and as such Dirt Farmer come across as overwhelmingly polite.
Not that this is at their detriment, this is an EP of instantly gratifying breezy summer hits. It’s just a shame that winter is coming.
Recent Record Reviews
Still Corners
Strange Pleasures
Released through Sub Pop, 2013
Still Corners’ debut Creatures Of An Hour was an intimate 60s influenced experience where singer Tessa Murray’s sultry voice reigned supreme, a formula they seemed so...
1 week ago
Ghostpoet
Some Say I So I Say Light
Released through Play It Again Sam, 2013
British producer Obaro Ejimiwe, a.k.a. Ghostpoet made waves with his debut, Mercury-prize-nominated album, Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam in 2011. Back with number two, Ghostpoet...
1 day ago
Abbe May
Kiss My Apocalypse
Released through MGM Australia, 2013
Abbe May’s new album Kiss My Apocalypse is dramatic and soulful, and pretty sexy. The first track, Hurricane Heartbeat, sets the scene for the rest of...
6 days ago
Papa Pilko And The Binrats
Howlin’
Released through Independent, 2013
Papa Pilko And The Binrats revisit a bygone era of swampy, bluesy, downright sleazy rock and roll with aplomb. While much has been made of their...
1 day ago
Daft Punk
Random Access Memories
Released through Columbia/Daft Life Ltd., 2013
If you were ever going to be completely wrapped up in the hype surrounding an album, this is that album. Thanks to the meticulous and over-the-top...
1 week ago
