Words of Brigitte Crisfield
Roaming the same West Brunswick streets – during Melbourne’s endless lockdown, Tom Russo of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever contemplates “a decent amount of clearly wrong things in this country”.
Therefore, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s third record includes some heavy thematic underpinnings including the “echo of living on stolen land” and the horrific natural disasters (bush fires, floods) that our country has suffered of late. But since there’s a joyful, rebellious, youthful enthusiasm to the band’s overall sound, you really have to tune in to catch the more political lyrical material that’s scattered within. endless rooms,
The quintet consists of a trio of singer-songwriters – cousins Fran Keeney and Joe White plus his partner Russo – playing guitar, with Russo’s bassist brother Joe and drummer Marcel Tussi holding the rhythm section. Sometimes Mark Callaghan of his outspoken distribution channel Gangjung, sometimes Steve Kilbe.
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the sound of a strange door opening endless roomsTransforming into a minute-long opening soundscape: Atmospheric pearl like youone who provokes in the air Tonight, tidal river – described by Rousseau as “a small snapshot of living in a time when it seems there is no one at the wheel” – artfully employs an underwater-singing effect on occasion: “Jetsky on the Yellow Rock / Chase the bullet for some relief / Until you point out / What’s under your feet” – Contains Midnight Oil residue, destroying Australia’s reputation as a ‘lucky country’.
Mostly recorded at “The Basin” – a mud-brick house the extended Rousseau family built in regional Victoria in the ’70s (see: album cover image) – endless rooms Field recordings of “fire, rain and bird sounds” are included. And this rural, lakeside setting inspired the expansive, lively sound that Rolling Blackouts CF rolled out on album number three.
during lead single the way it shatters – Featuring hyperactive synth and shimmering, metallic guitar lines – Mofos entitled White Call Out: “It’s rote from cramming / Around your house / If you were in a boat / Would you turn to the other side?” standout track dive deep shows a curly, syncopated riff (totally showing there!) and blue eye lakeOn a scorching summer day, swinging in a refreshing river with a rope eliminates the flurry. The album’s bleak, gloomy final title track is right behind the minimalist strums and feedback-squall accompaniment, directing the spotlight towards our stonewalled protagonist: “Through the infinite rooms we walk / Just tryin’ somewhere lie down.”
Creates a different sense of place endless rooms A vivid listening experience. Wait, can we really smell the bushfire smoke right now? Repeated chant from Russo-penned album track seen on east beach – “Things Can Always Be Seen” – pretty much sums up the broken-but-optimistic spirit of the album.
Endless Rooms is now available on all digital services and will be released in physical formats (CD, black vinyl and Sub Pop’s limited edition Loser opaque yellow vinyl) on Friday 3 June 2022 through Ivy League Records.
