"Advancement for our pleasure, keeps us all calm"
What can I say about Bollard's ambling punk diatribe Ziggurat? It certainly is an epic piece of divergent art, I mean, sure this kind of self aware spoken word thing on top of jagged sideways punk escapist fair has been done before, right? Right, but not like this. The vocal aesthetic alone is so fucking captivating held up by that cool and sultry bass line. Yes, I didn't want to pull out the sultry word but it fits here.
The guitar work with the rock chord repeated like a mantra, the other guitar sounds exquisitely nuanced but caustic with distorted squeals and ticks (at one point like Hendrix with an affliction), what sounds like synths way in the back, the percussive junkyard sounds, and the glorious, glorious feral emotional and sonic eruptions, like someone is losing their shit, all fueled, glued together with that bi-polar drum beat.
In some way, Ziggurat, sounds like a dystopian piece of machinery pushing out some widgets and then flying apart, breaking down, only to put itself together. Now mind you, all these creatively wrought sounds and emotions and I haven't even got to those words yet... fuck.
Bollard hail from Melbourne, Australia.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
instagram Hailing from Australia, Bollard's sound is a unique blend of a wide variety of influences both musically and culturally. From beginnings in the backstreets of North Melbourne to turning heads with chaotic shows all the country, Bollard have spent the last two years developing a distinctive sound that blends heavy guitar work with subtle melodic structures. In the mold of 90's and post-punk heroes such as Dinosaur Jnr. and Sonic Youth, Bollard flip traditional song structures around and push the parameters of music.
Described as ‘an explosive collection of abrasive post-punk – packed with intense chaos,’ the band’s debut album Trawlers was released April 9th 2018. The tracks from the album were played on public broadcasting stations in all capital cities in Australia, including interviews on both Triple R and PBS in Melbourne. The release of the album earnt Bollard a spot on America’s Rockhand records label.
Bollard’s latest single, ‘Ziggurat’ sees them depart from the chaos in Trawlers and the atmospheric sounds of ‘Beware the Atto Fox’, with a brooding song with a modern edge. Recorded in Richmond this track uses simple songwriting with subtle changes to produce a moody and unsettling track.
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