The Dirty Earth ‘Autonomic’ Album Review

Words Jackyboy

Rock’n’roll has been played fast, it’s been played slow. Its missionaries have changed their costumes from sharp suits to the most outlandish get ups, their attitudes have started revolutions or just towed the line. Rock’n’roll in 2014 has a pallet of inspirational colour more varied than ever before, with more and more hybrid sounds stitched and bolted together like Frankenstein’s monster.

The latest band to shake up the formula is The Dirty Earth with their latest release, Autonomic. The first song ‘Yellow King’ breaks into a fuzzy rhythm and blues guitar riff, followed by Mandy Newton’s buttery soulful vocals. The album doesn’t drop the ball once, a strong collection of 10 Australian rock classics with highlights of ’70s soul, scorching guitar tones and tight drum fills. So much more than a style over substance throw-back, The Dirty Earth are four people who can really fucking play. The years of focus on their craft is apparent; vocals precise and stylised, guitars confident and heavy over a beat, punchy and rolling.

The Dirty Earth have shared stages with big names from our home turf and legends of abroad like Buzzcocks, Rollins, Hard-Ons, Tumbleweed, Def FX and Hawkwind. You can catch these Sydney rockers at Whole Lotta Love (Brunswick, Melbourne) Fri 22 August and The Reverence (Footscray, Melbourne) Sat 23 August. Get down there and show them one more thing we do better than Sydney: Support local music.

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FB Events:
Friday 22 August – Whole Lotta Love with Two Headed Dog, Introvert (Adelaide)
Saturday 23 August – The Reverence Hotel with Motherslug, Introvert (Adelaide), El Colosso.