Electric Prawns 2

Reviews

Electric Prawns 2 Rock and Roll’s Greatest Hits cassette

Nineteen tracks make up this monster of a cassette. Having lived through the musical bloat of the ’90s, I am always a bit skeptical when a tracklist length could legally drive (or legally drink, given that ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 are Australian, after all). With that personal hangup documented, this cassette does a nice job of keeping you off your guard and on your toes. The first two tracks are sub-minute intros? Strange! The first actual song comes in subtly enough, and then the dogs start barking on “Big Man” and you forget everything you’ve heard thus far; the PRAWNS have arrived. This is where you lock in, because this is where they lock in. Great synth lines, plenty of attitude, lots of fuzzy sounds, and the desire to stick around. Clearly, this is not meant to be a passive listen. ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 demand your attention, for better or for worse. I do personally find them at their best when they crank the intensity and throw everything they’ve got right in your face. There is a ton of music here, and what’s perhaps the most interesting is that if you randomly choose a track, you’ll probably really dig what you hear. I’m not sure if sitting down from the first intro to the end is the goal here as this is intentionally ADHD music, but I will say whatever track you may hear, it’ll make a solid impression.

Electric Prawns 2 Heavy Shitters cassette

Insanely catchy collection of garage punk tunes from Australia that was almost scrapped by the band? Folks, why? It’s so good. If you like JAY REATARD or TEE VEE REPAIRMANN, give it a listen and soak in the rock’n’roll grit, the near-bubblegum vocals on tracks like “Mine Tonight” (“Make you mine toooo-niiiiiighttt”), and the old school keys that bubble up like ? AND THE MYSTERIANS playing with the SPITS. Hooks hooking into more hooks on every song had me writing one word next to each song while listening: classic. Like the song “Borned to Rock,” ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 were in fact borned to rock.

Electric Prawns 2 Perspex cassette

A real wild, tripped-out experience awaits you with the second release by ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2, although it doesn’t say that name anywhere on the cassette’s artwork. Driving garage punk, plodding post-punk, weirdly beautiful pop-psych, ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 touch on all of these subgenres and more throughout the odyssey of this release. This is not going to be palatable for all of you dear MRR readers who surely have greatly reduced attention spans from all the years you’ve spent huffing inhalants or damaging your brains in some other way. With six of this tape’s nine songs pushing or surpassing four minutes in length, it’s sure to be off-putting for those preferring their punk songs short and sweet. Personally, I say buckle in, dim the lights, and enjoy the journey. The tape starts off sounding like if EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING was a full-on post-punk band. I’m sure part of that comparison is coming because ELECTRIC PRAWNS 2 are also from Australia, but it’s more than just that. As the tape continues into its more out-there realm, you end up with tracks sounding like JOHN’S CHILDREN, Mark Bolan’s pre-T. REX mod-rock band. The only thing that truly isn’t for me on the tape is the final track, which is an incredibly long acoustic guitar sing-along number likely intended to be a LOVE-inspired track rather than some hippie nonsense, but maybe take an early exit from this rollercoaster ride, skipping the final lap to avoid that one.