The Far Outs! – The Far Outs (Ripple Music/Rebel Waves Records)
There’s a readily-identifiable rock and roll lineage that goes back through the 1980s and ‘80s and it effortlessly connects to the ‘60s. Lenny Kaye’s “Nuggets” album and the tireless Greg Shaw from Bomp Records are owed a huge debt for provoking the so-called Garage Revival, and The Far Outs are living proof that it hasn’t died just yet.
The Far Outs are a duo of Brisbaneites, guitarist-vocalist Phil Usher and drummer Jonny Pickvance, and if you’ve never heard a song by The Sonics or The Kinks you need to track them down and ask for a look at their record collection. The Far Outs have raided the mid-‘60s sounds cupboard, padded out their own spin on it with organ, and have delivered an album that drips with swampy garage goodness.
The Far Outs are a vehicle for songs that Usher presented to another Brisbane band, Grand Atlantic, that didn’t their format. One band’s trash is another’s garage rock treasure. The 10 primal tunes received a warm welcome from US-Euro label Ripple Music/ Rebel Waves. A long-playing LP and CD are the results.
The crunch of opening cut “Last Night” is a fair representation of what follows: Woozy organ jousting with serrated guitar and a thunderous backbeat. Vocals choking on their own snot and the whole shebang fermented in just the right amount of echo and reverb.
It wouldn’t be a ‘60s-punk flavoured record without a bitter break-up song or three and The Far Outs’ oblige with their own version of “Stupid Girl” in “Bad Thing Going”. The lyrics are capitalised online – just in case you don’t get the message:
“IF THIS IS ALL JUST COMEDY TO YOU MAYBE IT’S MY TURN TO CHANGE THE TUNE”.
“Bad News” is more of the same but with more bounce to the ounce. Shades of “Slave Girl”? Before you girls use the misogynist word, be aware that the smouldering “Hey Little Girl” turns the tables with the proponent making his best efforts to get his point across but failing miserably because she’s just not listening.
Variety? There’s even a dash of mutated surf-Spaghetti western in throwback instrumentals “Get Off My Shroud” and the percussive “El Diablo Del Mar” bit it mostly resides in the garage. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The Far Outs have been touring the record since it came out in mid 2023 but apparently by-passed Sydney for the probably more receptive holes-in-the-wall of Melbourne. If you missed them, you can procure your own copy, no matter where you live but going to the band’s own Bandcamp or the label website. Thank me later.
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