Brisbane’s unflappable Wattmore brothers Aiden and Kai Boak are back and they’re bringing all the smack, a gloriously unfettered middle finger to the sanitised, algorithm manipulated nonsense of contemporary romance in the shape of ‘Romantic Side’. This is the follow up to the great debut ‘Circus Life’ and confirms Wattmore’s reputation for fearless sonic alchemy: alt country grit, rockabilly swagger and punk rock irreverence melded into something totally fresh, entirely distinctive and, frankly, pretty damn electrifying.
Forget saccharine love songs. This is the sharp, satirical takedown of the whole dating industry delivered with that cheeky energy and rebellious charm the duo has become known for. The track is co written with Australian songwriting legend Allan Caswell and it balances biting wit with some surprising raw emotional honesty. The song is loud, it’s witty and it’s authentically real in feeling – the type of song that needs to be played at full blast, whether on a dive bar jukebox or in the pickup truck roaring to the sunset.
At the musical level, it’s a joyride at a high octane. With Lindsay Waddington at the helm (Australia’s hottest country music A Team at LWM House Studios) he gets to the raw energy of Wattmore. It’s bourbon soaked storytelling, all driven by a driving, unmistakably country beat. The undercurrent may be pure punk attitude, but you’ll be hearing it through twangy guitars and it’s raw, energetic and bloody uncompromising. Using gritty vocals, with personality and palpable sense of fun, the brothers sell both the satire and the sincerity.
Messed with the country side of its DNA slightly more than ‘Circus Life,’ ‘Romantic Side’ is still tinged with punk. What makes them now is their fearless genre smashing. They won’t be corralled, constantly shifting between the influences of Waylon Jennings to Oasis to create a sound that’s beautifully their own: raw, unassuming and thrillingly unnerving.
“Romantic Side” is a statement, not just a great song. Basically, it’s a smirking, cleverly crafted antidote to swipe culture we simply needed, a reminder that music about love (or the lack thereof) can still be smart, rebellious and fabulously fun without sacrificing one iota of heart or integrity. Wattmore doesn’t merely press buttons, they stampede on the buttons with cowboy boots and the outcome is a gloriously eccentric, completely necessary detonation of pure cowpunk energy. Throw it on and just let the irreverent charm flow over you.
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