The Drones – Havilah
Havilah – The Drones
By Chris Peken
The Drones are one of Australia’s truly important bands, strutting the world stage with confidence and a sense of belonging. For the uninitiated The Drones are the latest descendants of an Australian blues trash tradition: imagine if J Mascus joined The Bad Seeds, or Neil Young and Keith Richards duelled in The Scientists. That’s right, they will never have mass family appeal. Album number four, Havilah explodes out of two weeks recording in a mud-brick cottage earlier this year. Ten songs, ten well-crafted gems from Gareth Liddiard that cover the dynamic spectrum, from the sparse and hauntingly quiet Cold and Sober, to the dense and cathartic Nail It Down and back to the very Stones-like country rock of Your Acting’s Like the End of the World. Possibly more so then ever it is Liddiard’s voice, part chaotic desperation, part melancholic rambler that takes centre stage over his Gothic, angular and poetic lyrics. Havilah is grand in design and execution, nourishment for the ears and the soul. Thank God for The Drones.
**** 1/2
