By Jim Rowland
Five years since their debut album ‘Casino’ snuck into the ears of punk enthusiasts around the world, Australia’s Mini Skirt finally release their second full length album, ‘All That We Know’. Aussie punk has given us some absolute gems in recent years, and this one’s no exception.
In recent years we’ve been treated to Aussie punk delights from the likes of Amyl & The Sniffers, Civic, Stiff Richards, C.O.F.F.I.N and a fair few others, all with their own flavour. Mini Skirt stand up with those with their brand of raw, in-yer-face, politically driven pub-punk.
Whether it be the grinding, pummelling punk rock of ‘Pottsville River’ and ‘Ned Kelly Letter Box’, the bouncy, catchy and slightly less pummelling ‘Roundabouts’ and ‘Stay Soft’ or the speedy punk of ‘Chew The Cud’, these are finely crafted tracks bursting with energy, great riffs and clever twists.
The discordant, angular and frantic qualities of ‘Mud’ and ‘Squeeze Down’ produce two of the album’s best examples of the clever song writing here, ‘Been a While’ and ‘Series 3’ make good use of more of a poetic spoken word approach to the vocal giving these tracks and arty, post-punk flavour, as does the darker vibe of ‘White Range Club’.
A cohesive album that covers a good range of different flavours within a raw, harsh, relentless, powerful, and energetic sphere, ‘All That We Know’ is a brilliant contemporary punk rock album containing all of the raw grit that the Aussies do so well.
- ‘All That We Know’ will be released on Friday (14 November).