EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING – RUSH TO RELAX

Never mind punk history; the essence of Eddy Current is a stupefying night at the pub. 2008’s critically-acclaimed-smash-hit-breakout record Primary Colours focused this essence into catchy, memorable tunes; and while Rush To Relax is a more eclectic album, this essence is very much retained, albeit in a variety of forms. Roots-influenced, middle-tempo tunes like Gentleman and I Can Be a Jerk give you the early-evening slowness. Long jams on Tuning Out and Second Guessing give you the intoxication. Shorter, high-energy numbers like Walked Into a Corner, Isn’t it Nice and opening salvo Anxiety give you the violence. You even get the regret and pathos of the fast living, heavy-drinker on the title track, which ends the album with a fast punk riff that dissipates in to Brendan Suppression singing ‘Slow down / before you fall down …”, and twenty minutes of the sound of surf, complete with bird calls. It’s the whole journey, to the pub and back. It’s also proof of how great a musician Eddy Current is: he steps forward more than ever as the band leader, opening the songs, playing the solos, setting the tones. There are no bad songs on this album, no missteps. It’s just a more varied offering, a few new sides of a great Australian band.

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