Shakespeare asked, “What’s in a name?” But if he’d met Sydneysiders Day Ravies, he’d know they were giving a subtle nod to the frontman of The Kinks. The quartet’s record Tussle is a consolidation of sounds and a love letter to all the musical greats that preceded them.

The 20-somethings are a little young to have so much first-hand knowledge of the 90s, but if this album is anything to go by, their record collections must be filled with the likes of Sonic Youth, The Breeders, and Dinosaur Jr.

Tussle is only their second release, but it’s also a high-quality one.

A lot of complex, bittersweet, and frantic energy has been expended and compressed into this record, throwing just about everything into the proverbial pot. In a lesser band’s hands this could seem like fake pastiche or overdone copycatting, but this record’s picture is complete and flawless.

“Double Act” is drenched in reverb and distortion that contrasts (and occasionally drowns out) the sweet vocals in the song. The group offer some driving rock in “Pinky”, where the mood leans more towards Spiderbait in a garage than the dreamy feel from earlier.

Sonic Youth is a key reference in the fuzzy guitars of “Cocoon”, even if Sam Wilkinson sounds like The Church’s Steve Kilbey during the verses. In other songs the music bubbles and jangles (but never in the same way) and there’s a gorgeous ballad “Steeple Walk”.

Tussle references shimmery music with lo-fi production, with elements of shoe-gaze psychedelia and alt-rock all coming together under the banner of pop. While the likes of AC/DC have released entire albums boasting the same three chords, Day Ravies have taken a leaf out of a different book.

Their journey is a weird and noisy one. They should be commended for their  fresh and experimental nature, because it is impossible to pigeonhole these dynamic sounds.

Watch the clip for “I Don’t Mind” from Tussle here:

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