A man walks into a record store. “I’m throwing a party this weekend, do you happen to have any psychedelic-party-reggae-ska-doom-metal-punk-rock music about partying endlessly?” he asks.
“Hell yeah!” says the record manager, “We just got a new release from The Bennies out of Melbourne. Here you go.”
“Sweet!” says the man as he looks over the LSD-inspired cover of Rainbows In Space.
“Hope you enjoy, and hey, while you’re here, why don’t we chuck it on and smoke a joint?”
“Now you’re talking!”
“PARTY FOREVER!” They both yell as they high-five.
It’s hard to work out how many beers/bong hits The Bennies had to do before they thought the above scenario was a plausible one. But considering they’re up to their second full-length release, it’s not as half-baked as it might first seem. Don’t be fooled by the string of genres though; if you’ve ever been to a backyard party where the joints are frequent, the beers are constant, and there’s some guy with dreadlocks who’s trying to convince you to join the Communist Party, you’ve definitely heard music like this.
The strange thing is that despite it being a rehash of stoner music, it’s still a pretty good album. The mix up of genres work in most cases, the sound is catchy and the lyrics are full of sing-along choruses and stories about getting stoned.
The Bennies have made their own style of party music without changing the formula at all. The result is a magic trick, releasing a seemingly new album that actually comes from the world of the never-ending party. Party on, dudes.
3.5/5 stars
BY DANIEL PRIOR
Rainbows In Space is out now through Poison City Records.
