Album Review: Coerce - 'Ethereal Surrogate Saviour'

Anyone who has heard ‘Silver Tongued Life Licker,’ the debut record from Adelaide based group Coerce, or seen them at a live show knows that this is something you should pay attention to. The band built up a veritable buzz around the time of their first record, helped along by a Big Day Out appearance and several national tours, and to maintain this buzz, they now present their second full length ‘Ethereal Surrogate Saviour.’

A bright, horn laden march isn’t exactly the way you would expect the new Coerce record to begin, but that is how it does begin, so expect the unexpected. The uplifting sounds of opening track Equis lead, with perfect contrast, into Inking Ships, slightly more familiar territory for the band as a simple yet solid beat paves the way for building guitars and monotone, slightly sunken, vocals which come across like a chant, helping the song to build and swell.

A wall of sound and energy follows with Rain Parade, an up tempo musical assault during which vocalist Mike Deslandes unleashes his growl. The vocal performance has stepped up a notch compared to that of the debut on which it was slightly outshined by the music, here it is a worthy companion.

One of the highlights is Prince Welfare, thanks to its sporadic beat and dirty bass line built on by the chaotic chorus lines. Things simmer down for the title track during which the guitars and vocals offer some of the sweetest and memorable melody lines of the record. The mid-section is where Coerce have taken a new route to their sound, especially with Ash White Smoke, another stand out which almost sounds like a weird take on INXS.

The album sounds amazing and to add to the many impressive elements here, it was recorded, produced and engineered by Deslandes himself. The record ends with the groove heavy Five Thousand, a rolling beat with classy little guitar lines slipped in that never losses its pace or builds to the point you would expect it to, finishing the album with an acoustic sing-a-long, rounding things off the way they began, unexpectedly.

‘Ethereal Surrogate Saviour’ takes the brilliant sound and ideas found on ‘Silver Tongued Life Licker,’ refines them and quite simply betters them. For those who know the first record, this statement should be enough to make you want to hear the new one immediately, for those who don’t, you have some catching up to do.

1. Equis

2. Inking Ships

3. Rain Parade

4. Prince Welfare

5. Ethereal Surrogate Saviour

6. Ash White Smoke

7. Dust Dry Mouth

8. Hotel Addiction

9. Five Thousand