It seems the Australians and New Zealanders have a special knack for good, healthy, melodious rock, or power pop, or whatever you want to call it. As far as the Australians are concerned, don't go back too far into history, and remember guys like Dom Mariani or a band like “Godstar” and their “Half A Cow” label and the infatuation and direct involvement somebody like Evan Dando of The Lemonheads had with them.
Of course, the infatuation goes both ways, and Melbourne’s “The Stevens” show their appreciation of one of the cult heroes of the (more skewed) power pop, R. Stevie more on their sophomore album /Good/. And right off, I must admit I haven’t seen a more apt album title in a while.
Unless you’re very familiar with the Australian rock scene, telling you that The Stevens includes member of “Twerps “ and “Boomgates” won’t mean much, but after going through all of the 18 songs on /Good/, they're certainly worth investigating, as is The Stevens first album /A History Of Hygiene/ of 2014.
Nothing cryptic, convoluted or to mysterious around here. You get these straightforward, guitar-led, rocks songs with a lot of harmonies or echo-laden vocals. Only a few reach the three-minute mark, quite a few don’t even stretch over two minutes. The Stevens rush into the speakers, tell you what they want to briefly and there onto another song, another musical tale to tell.
Some would characterize their version of power pop as punky, but besides leaning onto the more melodic elements of R. Stevie Moore, their American hero, it would be fair to say that their leanings are more towards the Jesus and Mary Chain type of punkiness, if you can call it that.
Or, just simply look at the list of the bands they played support in Australia and you’ll get a better picture - Wire, Parquet Courts, Real Estate…
One thing though is for certain - there is an uniqueness in The Stevens sound, part of which might have to do that they recorded the album throughout last year in their bedrooms and then brought the Flying Nun master engineer Tex Houston over from New Zealand to give the album that touch in the sound that makes it interesting, or should I say, simply good. Worth your while in the hot summer days (or otherwise).
