Residing from the beautiful horizons of the Sunshine Coast, Australian rockers DrawCard have released an EP that resonates influences from the badasses of A Day To Remember with a clever fusion of empowering alternative UK rockers, Young Guns. With the recent release of Goons LTD, who’s to say they won’t rule the world one day?
From start to finish, you may as well get lost in the music they’ve created as it truly signifies what talent this band brings to Australia’s alternative rock scene. If they continue pushing through this route, they’ll see out better days ahead of them, and that’s saying a lot for a band that has just released a few EPs and a debut album.
With much cleaner guitar riffs and infinitely better mixing and production, not only is the listening experience for the EP more sophisticated but you can really tell how much blood, sweat and tears went into its development. In comparison to their 2010 debut LP Modern Rivalry, their sound has become much more grounded, slowly removing themselves from being too grunge-like and aggressive into being more punchy with clever alternative rock progression, with a much more elastic approach.
“Kids” is an exemplar of that, with Paul Durkin‘s husky-like vocals signifying a haste of attitude with an altern-esque underground instrumentation. Not only this, but it seems the band have a knack for something that’s slightly atmospheric, with a powerful rhythm that continues on their legacy of being influenced by “an eclectic myriad of artists”.
“We Are The Future” shreds itself with an absolutely electrifying introduction. The tempo of the drums and the importance of the role in the lead guitar shows an enthralling power. The rawness and melancholic undertones encompassed in Durkin’s vocals has a way of feeling expressive and touchy-feely but not the kind that keeps you emotionally unstable. In all honesty, it’s almost like coming across a wannabe Young Guns but of course, with an Australian patriotic stamp attached to it.
In “The Bridge”, the chorus visualises darkened imagery, while the composition begins to draw out atmospheric guitar riffs and vigorous momentum in its drum sequence. With vocals being intact, Durkin seems to have nailed his vocal range by a mile, and you start feeling the intensity of what lies between the passion of the band and the perseverance behind the writing of the lyrics, making their music meaningful to the core.
It’s clear that there’s a spectrum of passion and drive amongst this band and their fire for what they do is going to be hard to put out at this rate. With killer tunes and an on-point grasp of rock sound, truth be told, the journey ahead will be a long yet fulfilling one. Sometimes on a whim, there’s always that one band that breaks their habit completely by doing something out of the ordinary but hands down, this EP is like reading a book that flows well and one that you don’t want to put down. It has a strong beginning and a fine end but during the chapters in-between, it’s still able to maintain your full attention and that’s the most important part of any story.
Review Score: 8.5 out of 10.
Goons Ltd is available now.
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