★★★★
Ten years ago, Witch Hats held court in the smoke, piss and vomit-stained environs of Melbourne’s Pony club, banging out bruising gothic punk melodies and spitting invective against the office-bearers of the Alphington Junior Football Club.
At the time, the prospect of them writing a song that sounded like The Go-Betweens would have been as incongruous as Bobby Gillespie donning a Hawaiian shirt and fronting The Beach Boys.
Yet, lo and behold, here it is: ‘Religious Sickness’, the third track from the band’s belated new record, Deliverance. Its sweet, jaunty, and unashamed pop sensibility is buffed ever so slightly by the occasional jagged guitar lick and thundering bassline. But save for the equally poppy ‘Peeperman’ – a pun-ish sequel to ‘Pepperman’ from their debut EP – Deliverance is the logical quantum leap you’d hope and expect. ‘Weekend Holocauster’ spits and snarls like a Wipers-inspired punk philosophical rant on the detritus of modern society. ‘Trying To Forget’ is dark and threatening, with a surprising outro of soft sand pop. ‘Child In The Ceiling’ is ’70s FM radio rock with an acidic bite. ‘Strange Life’ sees the album out with a rambling seven-minute acid rock and pop journey that’s truly mesmerising.
It’s good to have Witch Hats back. Long may they reign.
DeliverancebyWitch Hatsis out now and available through In-Fidelity/Sony.
