Blending in

To define our nation’s quintessential musical sound at the moment is tough. Is there one? There is no shortage of Australian Hip Hop acts, straight rock outfits and folk imploded ensembles but perhaps in the wake of more experimental acts like the Cat Empire The Basics have emerged to redefine the landscape of music currently offered in our nation.

Having no prior knowledge of The Basics, other than the fact their track “Rattle my chain” is receiving reasonable airplay at the moment I was intrigued by their packaged longplayer “Stand Out/Fit in”.

Accompanying the album were Afl style footy cards, featuring the achievements and stats of the key members of the band. One of whom is drummer Wally De Backer whom some may know as lynchpin of Gotye another act making it’s name on the Australian airwaves currently.

Also on the back of the CD cover is the history behind the title of the album, which if I basically understand is that you can stand out from the crowd and fit in and The Basics are, in their opinion, living proof of this.

Behind all this guff, tracks on the album demonstrate eclecticism in musical style and taste that we are growing accustomed to hearing from the new breed of Australian acts. Not content to deliver one style there are fusions of jazzanova, rock and even some well rounded orchestral interludes. The Basics appear to have tapped into all their musical influences and track by track something new emerges from their sound that was previously unheard.

My favourite to listen to is Track one – “Rattle my Chain” as it really demonstrates a catchy rock ditty with powerful instrumentation behind it. I also like one of the end tracks “Bitten by the same bug”. This one is reminiscent of Sting and doesn’t disguise it whatsoever. Some of the other tracks whilst demonstrating the different genres are a little bit too ho hum for me, but give them a listen The Basics might just stand out in your mind enough to fit in to your CD collection.

Ruth Bailey

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Stand Out / Fit In

Artist: The Basics
Label: MGM

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