Gracetown

Vinyl LP pressing. 2015 album by the Australian band. Coming out of the small coastal resort of Fremantle, a beautiful town nestling in the shadow of Perth's gleaming monoliths and separated from the more fashionable parts of Oz by thousands of miles of red dirt, you might expect the music of San Cisco to be limited in vision, comprising flimsy surf-ditties extolling the ephemeral pleasures of sun, surf and sex. You would be wrong, however. For while it would be untrue to claim that the unholy trinity of sex, sun and sea are absent from their songs, on Gracetown, the band extend their sonic palette to new territories. There is a deeper, chillier feel to songs such as 'Snow' and a looser, funkier feel to ones like 'Jealousy' that signals a new sophistication and maturity. Less sun, then, and more muted shades, as well as a deeper exploration of the hormonal tangle that is postmodern sexual politics. If there is a band that better explores the ache, paranoia and oestrogen-rush of young love I don't know it. The album shows San Cisco growing up, and this growing up is scary and magnificent to behold.