"The Unfinished Spanish Galleon of Finley Lake" on Polygram Records
Spiderbait hail from Melbourne, Australia, and "The Unfinished
Spanish Galleon" is Spiderbait's debut LP and features the
infectious single "Jesus" which has been receiving a lot of
airplay lately on Australia's 'alternative' station Triple J.
Now, what's the usual problem with this type of noise? The vocals
are generally lost, uninspiring or lacking any melody whatsoever.
Not so with Spiderbait - true, they're fond of the distortion mike
(and amp), but what you end up with is infectious melodies against
a backdrop of fast, hard guitars.
Spiderbait are also fond of using a seemingly effortless switch
from nice 'n' easy, almost popish gear, to loud, hard, and fast
thrash - kinda like the lull before a storm to the storm.
Opening with "I Gotta Know," 'Galleon doesn't let up, and shows the
flexibility and diversity Spiderbait have, with tracks like "the
Riot," the punchy "Yeah O Yeah" and the funky "Who are the
Freemasons?" The last listed track is "Detective," which features
walking bass lines and has a Pink Panther feel to it.
There are a few weaker tracks like "Sam Gribbles" but on the
whole, Spiderbait have delivered a solid recording. I especially
liked the secret track which comes on 5 minutes after the last
song. It features a Casio organ pumping out some cheesy
twaddle, juxtaposed with distorted vocals and weird lyrics.
