Comedy L.A. Perfume / Hate Machine 7″
COMEDY puts out their first 7”, with a rock-heavy alternative sound out of Melbourne. I hear influences from ELVIS COSTELLO, the REPLACEMENTS, and maybe, in gruffer moments, the vocals of Jeffrey Lee Pierce. It’s melancholic, yet full of so much rock’n’roll vigor that it’s gratifying and energetic. These two tracks grew on me—at first, the croons on the chorus of “L.A. Perfume” were off-putting, and the squeaky-clean production didn’t leave any room for grit. But repeated listens had me hooked. Hearing the guitar work on “Hate Machine” made me think of ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, and the same sentimental feeling of the lyrics that at first gave me a bad taste began to draw me in, wondering what other feelings this 7” is capable of cultivating. While this isn’t something I’m used to hearing out of Melbourne, I like the direction, and I’ll be interested to see what they do next.