A Swayze & the Ghosts - Paid Salvation

It’d be easy, half a world away and especially in a time when international travel is one of the biggest of no-nos, to paint Antipodean rock as a monolith of noisy mullets, all wisecracking and smashing beer cans into foreheads. A joyous image, perhaps, but while Tasmanian outfit A Swayze & the Ghosts do match their mainland cousins in both decibels and throaty roar, they’re swapping bogan boisterousness for something devilishly darker and more restrained on ‘Paid Salvation’ - think the organised chaos of ‘70s NYC post-punk, or even the near-drone of erstwhile Leeds rockers Eagulls. And even as snarking on social media has moved into decidedly passe territory, the chorus of ‘Connect To Consume’ does remain a stellar one.