Music Review // The Great Emu War Casualties "Public Sweetheart No. 1"

 

The sound of The Great Emu War Casualties is quite complex.  It can feel like that time when bands were more well known, along the lines of Kula Shaker and Supergrass.   But there is also just a very big, overall vibe of how these songs also feel influenced by different aspects of Flaming Lips.  It's really quite the sound because you can pick layers out and compare them with other artists, but overall, these different pieces brought together just create this pleasant sound not like any one artist you have likely heard before.

With acoustics and a sort of psych rock vibe on the first song, by the second song you'll hear those guitars that can make you think more of that disco-funk pop sound.  Overall this album is really catchy and after a few listens you'll be singing right along.   Some synth comes in during "Old Dog" and then again during "Turn My Lights Out".   There are a lot of different sounds here but they sometimes just appear once (like the space guitar notes that start "Sob Story") and the sound which you'll begin to hear coming through more pure is what you'll begin to relate with this album.

While the majority of these songs have lyrics which are about what the title says, the one exception to that seems to be "Donut", which has its own story.   If you just read the song titles you'll know where this album is headed, as we get to the second half of it with songs like "Don't Be Sad" and "Sob Story", it kind of starts out leading us into this sadness.  This is not only represented by the sound but also lyrics on "Don't Be Sad", for example, which say: "I'm lying on the floor again".

At first listen, this album can feel like a lot.   There is a lot going on, it's complex for sure, but at the same time, there is this underlying quality which takes all of these sounds and little details you might not pick up on during the first listen and puts them all together to form one singular sound that will hit you in a way that perhaps music has never hit you before.  Is it pop?  Is it rock?  However you want this to be labeled, it will get stuck in your head and bits like the piano part which ends the whole album will just stand out in a way that you won't soon forget.