The Works of Drew Tewksbury, a Multimedia Journalist

Album Reviews

The Drones - Havilah

By Drew Tewksbury ⋅ January 12, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

In Vino Veritas.” In music, there is truth, too. Like a drunken night that puts everything on the table, The Drones’ fourth album, Havilah, exposes ugly and beautiful truths with its twisted visions and demented cast of characters. The Australian band’s songs inhabit a darker side of California folk-pop and the psychedelic ’60s. The gentle guitar plucks of “Careful As You Go” fight with the twang of Gareth Liddiard’s snarling voice and the drunken cadence of his Australian accent. Liddiard’s bellowing and playful growls recall the works of creative madmen, such as Roky Erickson, Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum, and even Charles Manson (whose musical experiments are actually pretty good. Part-time maniac Dennis Wilson agrees.). On “I Am The Supercargo,” Liddiard’s preacher-with-fever-dreams howls evoke Nick Cave at his most psychotic. After all, we want a little madness in our musicians; they are the ones on the forefront of consciousness, blazing trails through emotional spaces we’re not ready, or willing, to explore. On Havilah, The Drones tumble into darkened realms, swaggering with delightfully sloppy guitar and tumbling drums, as the record brims with the urgency of a confession from the gallows.