Album Review: The Community Chest - Top Of The Hour

It seems like the wheel of the cultural zeitgeist has turned and the aesthetics so dominant in the '90s such as jangly guitars and breezy tunes are back in vogue again. All of which suits ex-Turnstyle mainstay Adem K down to the ground, his former outfit subsisting on a diet of such sunny goodness, the vibe of which he brings with him to new project The Community Chest.

The Perth band's debut album Top Of The Hour opens with the repetitive Show Me, reminiscent of Melbourne's The Anyones, before the upbeat and synth-heavy Wave Rock lifts things up a notch, spewing out catchy hooks like they're going out of fashion. This diversity continues throughout; it's completely eclectic in that it covers a vast sonic vista, but the camaraderie and good-time vibes still make it flow nicely and contribute to its cohesiveness. Cyclops Extreme is a chugging, nebulous beast of the most nagging variety, riff-heavy coda Top Of The Hour Part 1 segues into the male/female interplay of the laidback Blasphemy, before Same Time, Same Channel channels Happyland in the same way that Get Into The Rocket is in thrall to The Rentals. Youngblood is scarily akin to some great lost single that The Breeders forgot to release in the midst of some no doubt epic bender, while Anti-Lullaby is as reflective as the preceding material has been fun-drenched.

You do have to wonder whether The Community Chest have got their hemispheres or seasons mixed up because Top Of The Hour would be a kick-arse summer release, but one imagines that it will age okay in the next few months.