10 Albums in 10 Days: Day 7
WACO, VIOLENT SOHO, 2016
Hell f*** yeah!
Whoops, wrong album, but really, listen through Violent Soho’s lead singles and what do they all have in common? Luke Boerdam finds some way to scream “yeaaah” and yeaaah is exactly how I feel about the Queensland four-piece’s fourth album WACO.
WACO was actually the most difficult album for me to write about in this compilation. I absolutely love it and I don’t think there is a weak song on it, but expressing why I love it is difficult; I don’t really know why I love it but I do; it’s just good, honest Aussie rock!
Post-WACO release was the first time I finally got to see Violent Soho play at a music festival too (shocking I know, as at around this point in time it felt like they were playing on every line-up but remember, I was still living in Adelaide at this point in time!) and their explosive live performance was faultless and possibly part of the reason I hold this dual-ARIA winning album so close to heart.
Honest and rocky of course is the staple of any Violent Soho song or album. They know their sound and know it well, WACO being like a big brother to its 2013 predecessor Hungry Ghost. They do anthemic yeahs, they do jangly guitars, thumping drums and infectious riffs. This is all packed in with lyrics reeking of quick wit, angst and the sarcastic irony of Boerdam’s signature sneering, grungy vocals.
What I think WACO has that its previous albums missed is its heightened sense of depth. Hungry Ghost is home to the band’s most popular song to date, Covered in Chrome and fellow fan favourites Dope Calypso and Saramona Said, but I feel like WACO takes the band’s sound further in creating a more mature album that weaves the songs together from start to finish as more of a cohesive unit rather than just tracks that are good individually.
It’s hard hitting, from punchy opener How To Taste to aggressive single Viceroy, it’s cheeky, on tracks such as Like Soda, No Shade showcases Boerdam’s signature sarcasm perfectly and there are the two token slower tracks, Slow Wave and Low, just in case you ever need to make an unplugged playlist for an event and you’re dying to sneak some Soho in.
There is a reason Violent Soho is one of Australia’s most celebrated rock acts in recent years, and you’ll understand exactly why if you sit back and listen to WACO.
