Breed Obsession

The Age

Thursday March 20, 2008

Craig Mathieson

Breed Obsession

Gyroscope (Warner) 3/5

There's scant middle ground left for rock bands. On one side is commercial radio demanding nothing but Nickelback, on the other is a generation of bands making obsessive self-pity into a banal calling card. Perth's Gyroscope - 10 years together as a band and now releasing their third album - aren't close to either standard, and their new set offers up affirmation and experimentation as a way of staking a claim. The album's course is a downwards trajectory: the pounding opening combination of Snakeskin and All In On One culminate in the astral ballad Time. Producer Dave Eringa (Idlewild, Manic Street Preachers) has given the disc an expansive feel; guitars swell and envelope even as the vocals are pushed to the top. The result is an outgoing record about the cauldron of private anguish. Vocalist Daniel Sanders isn't interested in the momentary sting of the break-up, he's interested in the months and years afterwards. Certain elements - including the cliched cover art and over-inflated ballad Australia - suggest too much effort is being made, but Gyroscope do enough on Breed Obsession to keep moving forward. -- CRAIG MATHIESON

© 2008 The Age

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