Have Gonzo just delivered Melbourne’s best garage punk album of 2019 so far?
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04.04.2019

Have Gonzo just delivered Melbourne’s best garage punk album of 2019 so far?

By James Lynch

Following their debut album Gonzo by Gonzo, the hard-hitting rock band produce some of their best music to date.

Anyone who’s caught a Gonzo show over the last few years would naturally have been anticipating their next release, while quietly wondering how they were planning to put their raucous live set to record. However, they’ve managed to pull it off; sounding equally unhinged and pinpoint tight, Do It Better Again is an explosion of their masterfully erratic garage-punk and a solid reminder of why they’re one of Melbourne’s strongest bands.

Album opener and first single ‘Put The Money’ sets the tone for what’s to come with its wiry guitars, off-kilter beats and Jack Kong’s sardonic vocals. It’s a compelling start and this mood doesn’t let up – next is the volatile ‘Meat Sweat’, before ‘Never Say Never Again’ sucks us in further with its frenetic grooves and awkward hooks.

There’s a brief reprieve with the translucent guitar chimes of ‘Wishbone’ before Gonzo put their heads back down and serve up their best songs yet – from ‘Videodrome’ to ‘Escalator’, it’s blast after blast of glorious chaos. Although it’s hard to tell if Kong is being serious or sarcastic when he yelps “I can show you energy” in ‘Snake Sighs’, it’s hard to find a more fitting way to summarise the album.

8.5