Since their first fuzzed-out demos, Sydney four-piece Day Ravies have made any day of the year sound like the middle of an adolescent summer. Day Ravies sound like a band that has been around forever, but our album of the week, Tussle, is only their debut full-length.

Tussle, as the names suggests, incorporates the full creative input from all the band’s members, Sam Wilkinson (guitar/vox), Caroline de Dear (bass/vox), Lani Crooks (keyboard/vox) and Matt Neville (drums).

Caroline de Dear seems out of place in the best of ways, holding a bass guitar and a bassline that are both twice the size of her.

And just when you would expect some gruff male rock ‘n’ roll lyrics in tracks like ‘Pinky’ and ‘Dasher’, she takes to the mic. and releases angelically high-pitched crooning. In other tracks, male vocals, fuzzed-out guitar, drums and synth are all given their prominence, showing there is no frontman or woman, but a band of equals.

From 60’s rock to shoegaze through to 90’s pop and psych, there are several generations of musical trends built into this record. Influences aside, all tracks are etched in an unmistakably Aussie sound, adding to the growing contingency of homegrown DIY rockers including Dick Diver and Twerps.

Watch: Instant time warp, ‘I Don’t Mind,’ and its accompanying bobbling fruit salad, as directed by bassist Caro de Dear herself. 

The tracks are deceptively simple, with hidden agendas that build up behind the distortion into lofty heights of sun-drenched satisfaction.

Instant pleaser, ‘I Don’t Mind,’ starts with a simple and inviting guitar lick, before building up a wall of sound and repeating the cycle to escape all sense of time.

Floaty synth-led tracks, ‘Jasmine’ and ‘Steeple Walk’ take you more directly to this recurring carefree destination. Closing tracks like ‘Staring Is Caring’ help wake you up from the hypnosis, using harsh distortion to rattle your nerves until soothing jangly guitar melts your ears.

Whether it’s symphonies of distortion, hypnotic rhythm grooves, or droned out lyrics, Tussle takes you by the hand into sunny hills where time no longer exists and the only worry is which album to play next. All this just in time for summer. 

Tussle is out now on Popfrenzy. FBi’s album of the week: 25.10.13 – 1.11.13

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WHAT :: Tussle album launch

WHO :: Day Ravies, Sounds like Sunset, Chook Race and East River

WHERE :: Red Rattler, Marrickville

WHEN :: Friday 22nd November

TICKETS :: On the door

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