Geowulf – yet another Australian band who’ve headed, Dick Whittington-style, to London to find fame, fortune, and pavements lined with gold and gum – are not, as their name might suggest, a mighty metal beast.
Indeed, they couldn’t be much further from that: a duo who are clearly very familiar with the work of Beach House and Cigarettes After Sex, but decided they weren’t chipper enough.
“It’s not a bad concept: the combination of Toma Banjanin’s roomy production and Star Kendrick’s voice – like a prepubescent Hope Sandoval’s, so perfect given their debt to Mazzy Star – will be welcome for fans of dreamy pop.” – Wyndham Wallace
Opening track Sunday finds her lounging lazily over sparkling guitar lines, while the languorous Saltwater and, especially, the peppy Don’t Talk About You could almost be Fleetwood Mac, albeit at their most serene.
Hideaway, furthermore, mines the Motown sound much as Saint Etienne once did, even if Won’t Look Back inexplicably brings T-Pau to mind, something that, one suspects, isn’t what Geowulf intended.
Their debut’s most effective track, though, is also its most upbeat: Drink Too Much, in which Kendrick cheerfully berates herself for her drunkenly destructive behaviour. As an apology, it’s unpersuasive, but as a song it’s undeniably charming. If she doesn’t spend their money on booze, fortune may be within Geowulf’s reach.
Classic Pop may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we think you will enjoy.
