Calm Ya Farm by The Murlocs
This Album has 5 Moose on the Moose Meter: 🫎🫎🫎🫎🫎
The Australian rock powerhouse, The Murlocs, is back with their seventh full-length album, "Calm Ya Farm." Released merely eight months after their 2022 concept album "Rapscallion," this new record marks a drastic shift in the band's musical style, delving into a distinctive blend of country rock. Their knack for reinvention yet again solidifies them as a prominent force in the modern music scene.
"Calm Ya Farm" kicks off with an unmissable vibrance, courtesy of the upbeat opener "Initiative." This album exhibits a remarkable fluidity, punctuated by the band's signature garage-punk flair and a smorgasbord of eccentric sonic twists, resulting in a sound that is uniquely theirs. Unlike their previous albums, "Calm Ya Farm" offers a more refined and clean sound, accentuated with elements of vintage production techniques and a pulsating blend of infectious grooves and memorable hooks.
Notable tracks like "Russian Roulette" showcase a dynamic vocal performance by lead singer Ambrose Kenny-Smith, his intensity harmoniously merging with the psychedelic grooves, giving the song a unique edge. Simultaneously, "Superstitious Insights" and "Queen Pinky" demonstrate The Murlocs' ability to explore different moods and styles within their signature sound.
Moreover, "Calm Ya Farm" serves as a testament to the band's collective musical brilliance. Their fluency in soul music truly shines, making songs like "Common Sense Civilian" and "Undone and Unashamed" among the album's standouts. The band's deft ability to inject fresh vitality into classic production techniques is a noteworthy achievement in an era saturated with retro aesthetics.
Lyrically, Kenny-Smith’s musings on the ever-turbulent world around him add depth to the music, intertwining the good-time sounds with contemporary social issues. His lyrics are often disarming, exhibiting a poignant blend of giddy, nonsensical ramblings of a street poet with stark overtones addressing serious topics.
In its entirety, "Calm Ya Farm" is a triumphant display of The Murlocs' maturity and growth, marrying country rock and psychedelic grooves into a strutting, swaggering sound. It is an album that combines classic and country rock into a record that feels like a breath of fresh air, embodying a vibrant spirit reminiscent of classic rock bands of yore. By seamlessly blending the old with the new, The Murlocs have delivered a compelling record that strikes an impeccable balance between nostalgia and modernity. It's an album not to be missed, serving as a perfect exemplification of the band's unique musical prowess.
Given the band's prolific history and constant desire for reinvention, it's exciting to anticipate where The Murlocs might venture next. But for now, "Calm Ya Farm" stands as a beacon of what they've achieved so far, a brilliantly crafted rock & roll album that's worth a listen and more.
-Monty Moose