Cosmic Psychos - Dung Australia (Album)

Australia has always enjoyed a proud rock heritage with great bands like AC/DC and Cold Chisel showcasing their rock talents early on, and contemporary luminaries like Silverchair, Powderfinger and Airbourne taking up the charge. For all those rockers who rise to fame and fortune, there are countless others who either crash and burn into oblivion, or perhaps worse still have been around for an age without receiving the recognition they so sorely deserve. Such has been the fate of Melbourne rockers Cosmic Psychos.

Kicking off their musical proceedings way back when in the early eighties, Cosmic Psychos have been an institution ever since. While there have been several lineup changes over the years, Cosmic Psychos have always stayed true to their ‘take no prisoners’ brand of music. Following an almost decade long hiatus, the boys from Cosmic Psychos are back in mighty unclean and infectiously rough rock fashion with their new album, Dung Australia.

If dirty, dark, messy kind of rock is your thing you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. Opening with the unashamedly loud, proud rock sound of ‘If You Want To Get Out Of It’, the guys quickly launch an assault on your ears with lashings of rough vocals, heavy guitar work and clashing drums. Their raw and often messy rock sound is full of energy and is highly infectious, drawing the listener in and sometimes threatening to spit them back out again. This driving musical force is reinforced with the track ‘Bank Robber’ which is jam-packed full of intensity and screaming with life. As with much of Cosmic Psychos music, here you will not find poetic melodies or subtly suggestive lyrics, instead these guys tell it how it is and make no apologies.

Such as with ’20 Pot Screamer’, some of the vocals are difficult to clearly decipher, but that doesn’t really matter as they are delivered with passion and the intent is readily apparent. Rather than be masters of vocally driven music, Cosmic Psychos are masters of sound driven music with vocals sometimes taking a back seat. When they do, listeners will find themselves captivated by the angry guitar work and smashing drum. One of the other really great things about this band is that they allow their Australian heritage to strongly filter out through their music. As is made clear in tracks such as ‘Flyblown’, these are three blokes who are having a good time and want to do the same for their audience.

‘Goin’ To Hell’ finds us deep in powerful guitar territory and showcases the rough textures and heady layers of rock which Cosmic Psychos seem to revel in. Some seriously deep vocals are on display here, and rather than cause confusion, the almost scrambled sound of this track works brilliantly. Followed by the atmospheric ‘Follow Me Home’, these tracks provide a powerful, but thankfully not lethal combination. This track has an epic sound and feel, and while the vocals here are probably at there most subdued, there is still an overarching manic energy throughout which seems to be the Cosmic Psychos signature style statement.

With Dung Australia, Cosmic Psychos prove that a consistent style and sound are key for continued longevity in the music industry.

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