Rush to Relax
The Age
Friday February 19, 2010
Eddy Current Suppression Ring (Shock)˜…˜…˜…ECSR didn't do anything silly with the $30,000 they won last year for the Australian Music Prize, like squander it on a big-name producer and a fancy studio; guitarist Mikey Young recorded this, their third album, in one day in a "shitty" studio and then mixed it at home €” at no cost. By continuing the DIY process, the band have created another album of urgent, angsty, groovy and charming garage-punk songs. Rush to Relax continues where the first two albums left off: there's classic Eddy punk-rock anthems (Anxiety, Tuning Out), confessional love songs (Gentleman, I Can Be a Jerk), snotty-nosed old-school punk (Isn't it Nice) and kraut rock keyboard jams (Second Guessing). The songs are driven by the unyielding rhythm section of bassist Brad Barry and drummer Danny Young, brother Mikey's taut guitar lines and the nervous energy and bone-raw honesty of frontman Brendan Huntley. On Anxiety, he lists his troubles, such as "A little scared I might fail". That's unlikely while he's in this amazing band. In their haste to record, a couple of the songs come across as a bit half-baked but Rush also contains some of their best material. PATRICK DONOVAN
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