Eddy Current Suppression Ring: Down Under with Instrumentals

Whether or not Eddy Current Suppression Ring is the best rock band in Australia seems difficult to figure out. Even if they were, the dubious crown doesn’t amount to much. Weren’t the Strokes (and yeah, I pick on ‘em a lot, because it’s easy) the best band in America for a while? Look what happened to them. Either way, ECSR has issued a steady stream of singles and a few albums on a wealth of well respected labels, even becoming affiliated with Goner Records, an American garagey stalwart. The music these dudes make, though, doesn’t sit in exactly the same camp as the label’s better known acts – Jay Reatard, at one time, being just that.

There’s still a punky attitude pushing through ECSR’s Primary Colours from back in 2008. It’s not of the spiky haired variety, but it’s there in all the snotty glory one would expect. The thing is, the band still doesn’t sound too far different than whatever local garage cum punk bands are kicking around your hometown right now. Songs like “You Let Me Be Honest with You” find the group coming pretty close to plain old loosing tempo and flubbing notes. It’s not that the highest level of performance is expected from this Australian cohort, but the preceding get pretty dodgy at times. Saving the band from mediocrity, the instrumental “That’s Inside of Me” crops up in all its minimal glory. The four minutes it takes to get through the song might not offer too many unique variants, but the one chord everyone plays is a good one.