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After their solid Self Titled release in 2011, Twerps return three years later with an aimless new full length entitled Range Anxiety.
Opening with a mellow instrumental, Range Anxiety gets you thinking you’re gonna get some kind of laid back masterpiece that will deliver on all the good intentions afforded to Australian pop over the years. Unfortunately, “I Don’t Mind” follows with mild strums and shallow vocals but never gets very far. Though the track shows some maturity in it’s pacing, it’s seems they wait a bit too long to get where they need to go. “Back to You” is another misstep. The song opens with all the markings of a jangle pop classic but falls short in the lyrics/vocal department.
The album isn’t all bad, in fact guitarist/vocalist Jules McFarlane delivers some defining songs, even one that could someday hit “classic” underground status. “Stranger” and “Adrenaline” are beautiful pop songs that capture the vague and complicated parts of quarter life. It’s McFarlane’s “Shoulders” that is the clear winner on the album though. It’s approachable structure and stunning lyrics lean the band in a more folk rock direction that really works. It may be the best song by the band since “Dreamin’.”
The fellas do score a few high marks with “White as Snow” and “Fern Murderers.” Two tracks very different from one another but both great examples of the band taking their influences and hitching modern ties to them without getting themselves lost in translation.
Twerps have a great record somewhere in them, sadly it’s not Range Anxiety.
