TROPICAL FUCK STORM

2021 GARAGE-ROCK/PSYCH-ROCK/NOISE-ROCK

Deeps States is the third full length release from Aussie rock n’ rollers Tropical Fuck Storm. Gareth Liddard and his mob of misfits have been at it a little over two decades when you take into account his and bandmate Fiona’s prior project The Drones.  When looking at their discographies in combination they’ve been on a furious four record tear since 2013s I See Seaweed. Their style has been fairly consistent, coarse wailing guitars, Gareth’s punky vocals from rancorous to tender but they’re more than that; a distinctive quality credited to his accent and a constant state of sounding at minimum mildly pissed. This ties into the lyrics, varied with strong storytelling and acerbic observations; things often get “political” so if you aren’t left of center you will want to fuck off.

As noted above they land in the rock corner of the ring with a mix of garage, psych, and noise with a tendency for a bit of rehearsed rambling from both Gareth and the instrumentation. As you might imagine from an album named Deep States there are themes throughout about conspiracy theories, the mental state of minds put through the pandemic pressure cooker. There are repeat subjects but it’s not on the level of a concept album, more like singles formed from various conversations at the TFS quarantine cabin.  Deep States delivers to the Fuck Storm standard. Yeah it’s the recipe they’ve been working with for sometime but there’s enough twists to thrill. When you get down to it, the band just knows how to write a nasty tune. The flippantly named opener, The Greatest Story Ever Told, kicks the door open in just the way you would expect the band and yet it lands in just alright territory. The guitars wail but don’t excite and the chorus is flat. However lyrically it’s great, laying the groundwork for what’s to come.

I was big once but these days it’s all about crazy schemes
That kings and vermin hatch for in-betweens
Now I’m back Jack I’m tellin’ ya ‘Come down off the cross’
Somewhere out therе it’s surely five o’clock

Its followed by an absolute killer in G.A.F.F., an abbreviation for give a fuck fatigue. It has all the hallmarks of a great TFS track, an off-kilter instrumental, loads of cutting lyrics, and an addictive chorus to complete the package. The crunchy percussion is a big standout along with a couple samples for Street Fighter that are an addition whose purpose alludes me. Is it the band saying they want to forget how shitty things are and play some games or the modern landscape is like a street fight or maybe it’s purely for the aesthetic. The lyrics, you might have guessed, are about the exhaustion involved with being bombarded by horrible happenings and the general “fuckedness” of the world. 

I’ll take the wages of sin over the minimum wage
I’d blow myself up too, man, it’s been one of them days
But I’m not a kamikaze, don’t wanna die a martyr
I’m just looking for a latte and a fucking phone charger

The conspiracies begin with Blue Beam Baby, a woozy track that replicates the murky mind of the logic leapers, nothing seems right. The title comes from a theory I’ve never even heard of which includes NASA, the UN, and of course their natural third, the Antichrist. Q is named dropped as well, there’s likely more references throughout, but my knowledge of crackpot bullshit is fortunately lacking. Musically it’s a terrific track, the dreamy femme vocals on the refrain and outro are a major highlight and provide an excellent change up in the tune’s sonic texture.

We go further down the rabbit hole with Suburbiopia, a choppy instrumental and femme vocals from both Fiona and Erica who muse about crazy cults. As per usual the lyrics are A+ with the band questioning if suicide cults are lunatics or if in drinking the kool-aid, they were right all along. The chorus plays off this with absurd humor, don’t knock anything till you try it. Bumma Sanger is one of the best songs off the album almost for its title line alone, “this was supposed to be a summer banga, now it’s just another bummer sanga”. Sanga being slang for sandwich in straya. The guitar’s goddamn rip and its stuffed with quotables,

Ah, the bad news channel’s on a fucking roll
I’m feeling useless as a missing remote
Control is an optic illusion
I know, I woke up in my sunnies, man
I cleaned the guttеrs in my underpants

beyond a catchy chorus it’s got catchy everything. The storm dies down on The Donkey which is eh, it’s a long builder with lulls and peaks. The poetry of it is fine but not attention grabbing and that moment when Gareth horrifically attempts to reach into his upper register for a few seconds. It distracts for the entire track; he sounds like when you try to hit the really high notes of a Kate Bush song after a couple drinks, pure pain.

We’re reinjected with more TFS brand fun on Reporting Of A Failed Campaign, a feverish tale of three modern demons. The start stop action is great and the marching rhythms build tension well but it goes on a bit longer than I care for, a bit of fatigue and the story goes nowhere of intrigue. Fuck me if I could tell you what New Romeo Agent is about but its still got an allure  all of its own. Erica sings on this one, the cadence is irresistible as are the twinkling, almost cosmic, scattered guitar notes. The next track is an absolute heartbreaker, surely vague but you can catch enough to know that the character Gareth is speaking of has had all the life drained from them, a legal ghost.  

It doesn’t really matter who you sleep with now
You’re just a legal ghost
It doesn’t really matter who you speak with now
You’re just a legal ghost

The narrative is compelling while the instrumental accentuates it perfectly with overcast guitars, and percussion that feels like the days marching ahead without your consent. The closer, The Confinement Of The Quarks, is a lo-fi hypnagogic instrumental, a solid closer but I would have preferred it as an interlude in the thick of the listing with Legal Ghost as the closer but it still carries us out in a pleasant isolation induced daze. It’s clear that Tropical Fuck Storm don’t half-ass their music, equal parts blood and craftmanship. To be direct, as they often are, Deep States is pretty good to great, there are a few stellar tracks that you will have on repeat and it’s easily one of the best rock records of the year, listen to it. 

7-8/10

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