Sticky Fingers - Land of Pleasure (14/08/2014)
“It's alright baby, I love you – I just gotta make some music with the boys”.
These are words that feature at the beginning of Velvet Skies. All imma say is... damn straight! Gurrl, you better let your boyfs make the music – because we like it a lot. Since Caress Your Soul got serious traction through Triple J Unearthed, Sticky Fingers have been on the up and up. Debut album of the same name enjoyed multiple Hottest 100 nods, and sophomore release Land Of Pleasure delivers on its promise. Released this August, it offers up a hefty chunk of tunes to satisfy, titillate and delight new and old fans alike. Created in the “tropical paradise” that is the hinterland outside of Australia's spiritual and artistic haven, Byron Bay, it's easy to hear how the Sticky Fingers crew got comfortable enough to get their rocks off for the recording of an album all about hedonistic pleasure. |
If it isn't all about hedonistic pleasure, at the very least it sounds like it should be. The title track opens the album, indicative of the ride you'll go on for the journey of Land Of Pleasure.
Lush, sprawling, experimental, uninhibited songs comprise the album, from a band that is notoriously hard to peg to one genre alone. Sticky Fingers take influence from psychadelic indie rock, reggae, the Old School and even britpop à la The Kooks.
If you're unfamiliar with the band formed outside a Newtown pub in Sydney, a good place to acquaint yourself is at Triple J - YouTube the entire segment they did last year for Like A Version. Not only did they perform a stunning rendition of Caress Your Soul, they also smashed the cover out of the park, performing Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon.
Singer Dylan Frost's distinctive drawl is bang on every note. He growls and purrs his way through every hook and turn, and his four buddies back him with the same amount of punch and swagger.
Funniest Video Clip of the Year award surely must go to funky reggae-rock jam Gold Snafu, lead single off Land Of Pleasure that makes offensively sexy use of a skulking bass line. Certainly, STIFI drummer Beaker is so proud of this album of theirs that he is already wondering how they could possibly follow it and its near perfection.
False modesty? Over-rated. If anyone else is going to back you, you need to back you first. STIFI reassure us from the outset, in tone, approach and tune, that this music really is that good. Get on board the STIFI train to pleasure town.
Rebecca McCann
Lush, sprawling, experimental, uninhibited songs comprise the album, from a band that is notoriously hard to peg to one genre alone. Sticky Fingers take influence from psychadelic indie rock, reggae, the Old School and even britpop à la The Kooks.
If you're unfamiliar with the band formed outside a Newtown pub in Sydney, a good place to acquaint yourself is at Triple J - YouTube the entire segment they did last year for Like A Version. Not only did they perform a stunning rendition of Caress Your Soul, they also smashed the cover out of the park, performing Fleetwood Mac's Rhiannon.
Singer Dylan Frost's distinctive drawl is bang on every note. He growls and purrs his way through every hook and turn, and his four buddies back him with the same amount of punch and swagger.
Funniest Video Clip of the Year award surely must go to funky reggae-rock jam Gold Snafu, lead single off Land Of Pleasure that makes offensively sexy use of a skulking bass line. Certainly, STIFI drummer Beaker is so proud of this album of theirs that he is already wondering how they could possibly follow it and its near perfection.
False modesty? Over-rated. If anyone else is going to back you, you need to back you first. STIFI reassure us from the outset, in tone, approach and tune, that this music really is that good. Get on board the STIFI train to pleasure town.
Rebecca McCann