Violent Soho – Hungry Ghost

After a steady career trajectory of building up to packed venues in their Austalian homeland, Brisbane/Queensland’s Violent Soho has inked a stateside deal with the ever-reputable SideOneDummy Records.  As such, their latest effort, Hungry Ghost, will likely serve as an introduction for those (like myself) who have remained unfamiliar with the energetic four-piece until this point.  Garnering many comparisons with 90’s icons like Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins, fans of grunge will find solace in Violent Soho’s handling of the genre.  But the band offers far more than a mere throwback to past times, incorporating plenty of contemporary tricks that will challenge listeners to reevaluate what comes to mind when thinking about grunge.

For starters, the band’s vocalists sit comfortably in the realm of wiry modern indie acts.  Stylistically falling somewhere between I Said Stop! and Deer Tick, the crackly strain of co-vocalists Luke Boerdam and James Tidswell ensures that listeners feel every bit as uncomfortable as in the initial chorus cry of opener “Dope Calypso.”  With the crunch of buzzing guitars beneath a clamorous backdrop, the band quickly proves their knack for abrasive but catchy tunage.  But whereas later songs like “In The Aisle” and “Lowbrow” continue this trend, others like “Fur Eyes” hint at a lighter, more Lemonheads-esque side to the crew.  The inclusion and success of the track’s light twinkling resonance begs the question of why the band so seldomly returns to further explore this slightly more rhythmic approach in favour of more scattered and vocally caustic songs like “Eightfold.”

Hungry Ghost’s initial enthusiasm somewhat tapers by mid-album, making for a second half with a murkier, more laid back approach to melody.  The result works well for more relaxed yet ambitiously instrumental offerings like “Liars,” but can get a little repetitive in slow burners like the title track and “Saramona Said.”  By this point the predictable slow moans sort of blend together, although they skillfully avoid becoming anything close to boring.

As a whole, Hungry Ghost serves as an eclectic mix of gungy sounds focused under a modern lens.  Violent Soho haven’t reinvented the wheel by any means, and sometimes their droning can leave something to be desired, but they have consolidated a consistent and sufficiently updated take on a genre that many left for dead twenty years ago.  Overall, Hungry Ghosts gets the job done and and will inevitably catch the ear of the stateside audience it deserves.