By Keith Walsh
It’s a fun challenge trying to categorize the new album by Australian band The Eunuchs. Is it art punk? Dramatic progressive? Theatrical agit prop? Experimental Rock? Avant Garde Metal? Whatever your take, the new nine track set Harbour Century makes so many important musical and lyrical points in such ambitious ways that it can’t help but bring enjoyment. Five tracks are available now on Bandcamp.
Why do I posit such unique categories? There’s an odd mix of sincere tender vocals with brass arrangements (“Estuary Of Dreams”) or songs that start off orchestral then morph into brash and raw punk orchestral explosions with distorted guitar and wildly rebellious vocals (“Magic Death Sea Nemesis.”) There are jaunty little moments with bouncy guitar and sweet happy vocals, brass support and xylophones, that suddenly turn into dramatic minor key expositions signaling a lyrical twist, with dancing flutes completing the story. And that’s just on the aforementioned “Estuary Of Dreams.”
Mythical creatures abound on this dramatic and wise album, remarkable because the members of The Eunuchs are all in their early 20s; Linus Hilton (lead vocals, piano) and Kristo Langker (drums) met in grade school and bonded playing AC/DC covers. Enzo Legge plays guitars, with session musicians on the various orchestral instruments. There’s a powerful sense of childlike wonder underlying the pieces, in the traditions of crooning and chanson, but much of that gets swept away by musical storms portraying the drama and passions of adulthood. The members have explained that “desire and its consequences” is a theme on every song of the album.
“Pat A Dragon” is an arty metal piece with brass, flutes and gritty rock guitars and an eastern sounding melodic motif and a whimsical vocal that transforms into a mad soundscape. “Siren” visits an interspecies romance that predictably doesn’t work out well for the sailor in question. This song ends with a manic shuffling beat that reminds me of The Residents and musical theatre, but then it gets very dark, with crashing cymbals and electric guitars echoing the crashing of waves and fortunes.
“Magnificent Stallion” is a beautiful elegy leaning into some Frank Zappa style sounds (and Zappa is an influence across the album, for sure, as are The Beach Boys.)
“Gnome And Fortune” has all the lyrical sound one might imagine in a fairy land – at first. As with all things magical on this album, the harps and flutes give way to a sad story about “creatures of want, victims of sloth, creatures of greed” who engage in gluttony and hubris.
“Bird Angel Dynasty” is a raucous song about the dangers of political life, particularly the intrigue between factions, as a metaphor for the problem of social corruption.
“Hierophant” dramatizes all the darkness and humorlessness associated with ancient religion or any other super-serious interpretation of events or circumstances. The final track, “Heroin King” starts off jazzy and mellow as a piano meditation, before the narrator begins his seedy tale of illegal trafficking and other social maladies, in a long form spoken word performance dramatizing the ills of market-based economics that explodes into rage and social criticism. It’s a sad reminder of the unfortunate realities we face in a Harbour Century, or any other.
This brilliant album is mixed and produced by Nick Hatzakos. Band photo by Darwin Schulze.
Preorder ‘Harbour Century’ On Bandcamp
The Eunuchs On Spotify
The Eunuchs On YouTube
The Eunuchs On Instagram
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