Album Review: Coerce - 'Silver Tongued Life Licker'

Coerce are a band that have seemingly popped up out of nowhere and thanks to a national support tour with Perth rockers Karnivool and a spot on this years Big Day Out their name is being mentioned quite a bit. The band members themselves have an impressive past resume including Realist Few, Soft White Machine and Mere Theory and not surprisingly elements from all of the aforementioned groups can be found hiding in amongst the sounds of ‘Silver Tongued Life Licker’.

The record, and I mean that literally as the album was originally only released on vinyl, presents a style best described as indie infused post-punk similar to the likes of Bear vs. Shark and At The Drive In.

The first track Trance, Viper, Dance opens with a thumping drum groove mixed with shimmering guitars before changing pace to an overdriven punk jam complete with gang vocal breakdowns and screams. The title track follows and shifts the record to a heavier place, reminiscent of tour buddies Karnivool, before third track Extortion Turned Publicity, in which vocalist Michael Deslandes shows you what Peter Garret might have sounded like if he screamed more.

The highlight of the album comes a little later on with Yellow Bellied Blind Snake with its melody heavy chorus that is caught between some fuzzy punk rock and a Mars Volta like ending. Things mellow out with The Kitchen and then end with one of the longest and heaviest tracks A Sordid Past: This Hex Will Last.

The album was recorded by the band themselves at Capital Sound Studios and the quality is quite impressive, for me the vocals let the record down at times as they do not seem to match the efforts of the music.

This is one of the better releases to come out of Adelaide recently and something you should probably check out so you know what everyone is talking about.

1. Trance, Viper, Dance

2. Silver Tongued Life Licker

3. Extortion Turned Publicity

4. Laneway

5. Joan Bakers High Fidelity

6. Love And Betrayed

7. Yellow Bellied Blind Snake

8. Barrel Of Laughs

9. The Kitchen

10. A Wretched Tonic: This Hex Will Last

11. A Sordid Past: This Hex Will Last