Alien Nosejob: The Derivative Sounds of… Or… A Dog Always Returns To Its Vomit 12″

Description

60s Garage Pop brilliance from Jake Robertson (Ausmuteants / School Damage)!!!!

Less than 12 months on from the triumphant rock n roll record that was Stained Glass, Australias most tasteful sonic culinary artiste Jake Robertson serves up another platter in his never-ending, ever-extending Alien Nosejob banquet.

Since initially firing out similar flavours on his first offering, Alien Nosejob has conquered the challenges of disco, hardcore, new wave, rock and roll (all drowned in his characteristically sweet sense of humour) before finally returning back to his musical roots: the jangly, adolescent feel of 1960s garage.

After one of Jakes first bands, The Frowning Clouds, reunited for a few shows in September 2022, he found himself digging up old songs and riffs from the period some spanning back to as early as 2006 and up until around 2012. This record features many of those song ideas some reworked, some rewritten, some exactly the same. All together now as one hot package.

Leaning into his musical tastes from the Clouds period of existence, Jake digs up inspiration in some teenage staples: The Troggs, Mike Furber, the under-appreciated bands that make up the Shutdown 66 / Back from the Grave compilations. Without overdoing the sugar, salt, MSG, whatever you wanna call it this record was recorded by Jake all by his lonesome over a weekend in his garage. Theres no paisley shirts, no skinny-ties, no winkle-pickers, no slim-fit suits and no haircuts just Jake and his 1964 MacBook Pro.

Garage rock revival is a sound thats often overdone, drenched in nostalgia and small-minded attitudes, but this album is not just a throwback to the sounds of yesterday. It doesnt belong with the golden oldies or your usual garage resuscitations. Anti Fade Records (AU) and Goner Records (US) are proud to present, The Derivative Sounds of Or A Dog Always Returns to its Vomit. The sixth piece of Alien Nosejobs eternal buffet and the all you can eat of record titles.

Our take: Its wise to drop the needle on any new Alien Nosejob record with zero expectations, as mastermind Jake Robertson has a habit of reworking the projects sound for every record. Here at Sorry State, were partial to the two hardcore records ANJ released on Iron Lung Records, but Ive enjoyed every Alien Nosejob record Ive heard. Robertson seems like one of those consummate musician types for whom songwriting is second nature, and even if hes experimenting with his musics window dressing, the core of it will always be well-written and interesting. This new LP was inspired by a reformation of Jakes old 60s garage-style band the Frowning Clouds, with many of these songs, riffs, and ideas upcycled from that bands 2006-2012 run. While these songs reflect Robertsons ever-sharpening songwriting chops, he hews closely to the 60s garage / psych template, though the production and the punkiness of the performances reminds me more of the 80s Paisley Underground bands than the 60s originals. One thing I really like about this style is that songs tend to feature both strong instrumental hooks and strong vocal / lyrical hooks often a song will start with a big instrumental hook, then build tension through one or more verses and release it in the chorus and/or the middle eight. When it works well, the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts, and thats the case with many of these tracks.