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If the term progressive music evokes images of people dressed as wizards firing off 18-minute, classically-infused keyboard solos on ice and post-punk conjures images of dour Mancunians in trench coats, then An Gof is what you need in your life.
Yes, they are essentially following in the footsteps of the post-punk sound, if that isn’t too vague a description, but they are doing so in a very progressive way, which definitely is a very vague description. Given the seriousness usually associated with music given a progressive tag and the often dark and brooding nature of much of the post-punk sound, “Nullarbor” is a surprisingly buoyant, upbeat and fun sonic snifter.
And despite their claims to have been marginalised by their musical community and held back by their own lack of ambition, “Nullarbor” is exactly what the alternative music scene could do with right now. Weighed down with cooler-than-thou indie bands and alt-rockers dealing in cliche and plagiarism, An Gof (Cornish for Smith, turning rocks onto musical ore) is a sonic shot in the arm to the musical outside track.
Chiming guitar delicacies are wrapped in rawer riffs while bass lines and back beats build effective and unfussy rhythms. At the same time, the vocals tell of exploits of daring-do from crossing Australian wastelands to swimming ancient Roman rivers, metaphors perhaps for paying your dues and statements of intent. Maybe, I don’t know.
What I do know is that “Nullarbor” is a fantastic song, An Gof a band to watch, and the whole thing is a sonic story that I want to watch unfolding.
