Ive been a fan of The Snowdroppers for a few years now after having seen them supporting Grinspoon a few years back, and at a Big Day Out a few years later, and was drawn to their energetic live performance and on-stage musical theatrics. The Snowdroppers are an Australian blues rock band consisting of Johnny Wishbone (lead vocals, banjo and occasionally harmonica), Pauly K (lead guitar), Nick London (bass) and Cougar Jones (drums), and formed at the end of 2007 after performing at a burlesque show in Sydney and realising they were onto something – being a group of fucked up misfits and STD carriers with one thing in common; the desire to introduce the blues to a new generation of fans. Realising they were in fact four clean-limbed honkeys, they decided to mix things up a little, which seemed to work in their favour as the new album, Moving out of Eden, testifies. It’s a little cracker of Australian blues/rockabilly with a punk rock sensibility.
The album opens with the song ‘Excavating’, and you could be mistaken for thinking you were listening to a Beasts of Bourbon b-side. It’s super catchy, with that dirty blues/rockabilly feel that the band have became famous for. ‘So Much Better’ highlights Wishbone’s vocals and I’m sure this will be a radio single. ‘White Dress’ is a doozy of a song, seedy yet smooth with its rolling bass and uber cool guitar melody line. The song cements for me that these guys are certainly going from strength to strength with their songwriting.
Their 2009 debut album, Too Late to Pray, had its moments and I’m certain these guys will continue to find success following this line of work. I could see these guys becoming the darlings to TV soundtrack writers. Almost every song I can hear on any of the dozens of crime shows.
‘Sweat’ has a real ’50s rocker feel to it. I played it to my old man who is a massive fan of Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley, and he loved it, telling me it reminded him of the days he would go and punch on with Dockie Boys down the wharves of Pyrmont and Balmain back in the late ’50s and early ’60s. The tilte track of this cracking album, ‘Moving out of Eden’ has a lazy yet solid groove. I’m loving the lyrics of this song, Wishbone is a wordsmith and could one day be considered alongside the great Australian Rock Poets. i.e. Nick Cave, Tex Perkins, Michael Hutchence and other luminaries. In fact I can hear elements of INXS in this song.
‘Just a Man’ is one of my personal faves of this album – its sexy beats make me want to go and shoot someone bad, then grab a girl and go dancing, with its lyrics touching on all the things i love – drinking, fucking and being that little bit more real than the next man. ‘Juliette’ could be another song used in the soundtrack of an upcoming Underbelly series, with elements of The Living End meeting Charley Patton in a swing club with Leadbelly tearing up the stage. Hot stuff indeed. ‘Plaster on a Smile’ is a dirty beast – loud, rawkus and tough as fuck.
Highly recommend this album and checking them out live.
8/10
Reviewer: Adam Barbuto