Sekret Sekret – Happy Town Sounds

Happy Town Sounds – Sekret Sekret

by Aidan Roberts

It’s always exciting to hear archival re-releases of an Australian band, as 70’s and 80’s underground records are a rare and precious thing. Here we have a freshly curated double-disc retrospective of psychedelic folk-rock pubsters Sekret Sekret, perhaps best known for their fun 1979 single New King Jack. This album is interesting in that it charts a fairly seminal band in a rarely documented scene, and Tim Pittman and Des Devlin’s liner notes are entertaining. But alas, the songs just aren’t that good. Vocalist David Virgin’s Rotten-via-Verlaine approach is under-baked, conveying these quirky songs with an apparent nervousness that feels forced and under-confident. There’s some cool guitar work from Dan Rumour, and the sweaty new-wave sound is definitely present. Perhaps it’s unfair to judge an historic band’s achievements at face value, but I believe that great music  transcends time or terrible recordings to touch the listener. Sadly, especially when their contemporaries were bands like The Go-Betweens and the Bad Seeds, this stuff sounds more like a nervous experiment than a joyous celebration.

**1/2