“Greatest-kept secret” was by no means going to be a title that suited Intestine Well being. Their dynamite dwell present immediately turned an “if-you-know-you-know” insider tip within the Melbourne music scene following their early 2020s emergence. Anybody who caught a lot of a glimpse at these exhibits quickly knew that the urgency and vitality of this dynamic sextet may solely be contained for thus lengthy.
The key is formally out. As their profile rises of their native Australia, because of sizable assist slots with Queens Of The Stone Age and Hiatus Kaiyote, the remainder of the world will quickly be enjoying catch-up. Simply as properly, too, contemplating their hotly anticipated debut album ‘Stiletto’ is nigh-on simple in its effort and ambition. As indebted to the period of post-punk within the late-70s as it’s to the NYC 2000s revival, Intestine Well being have crafted a percussively pushed, immediately danceable fashion of motorik indie that impossibly toes the good divide between resolute, forceful intent and nonchalant, easy cool.
‘Uh Oh’, the album’s opener, is a standout which leaves completely no respiratory house. Not even a lot as a drumstick count-in. The rhythm part of Adam Markman and Myka Wallace are instantly within the groove; Markman’s steely bassline is in good precision with Wallace’s cracking snare rimshots, earlier than the remainder of the band propels into an alternate universe the place Gang Of 4 was fronted by Kathleen Hanna.
In the meantime, the report’s grand-finale title monitor will lure you right into a state of hypnosis with its slithering, off-kilter rhythm. Scintillating and constant, the seven-and-a-half minute epic builds from its seething spoke-sung opening verses right into a cathartic cacophony of guitar suggestions and badly crushed bongos. You’re unlikely to have heard something fairly prefer it in 2024 – and this late within the sport, it’s even much less probably you’ll for the rest of the calendar 12 months.
Although all six members carry their very own aptitude, it’s apparent all eyes are on prowling frontwoman Athina “Uh Oh” Wilson. Parlaying between sultry melody and banshee shrieks, she presents up Dadaist poetry that may even make Dry Cleansing’s Florence Shaw scratch her head. ‘Cool Moderator’ introduces a solid of non-playable characters like Chelsea, who “went viral in 2014”, or Trixie, who will “prevent with a flash tatt or two”, atop a risky backbeat that utterly derails twice in spectacular trend.
Sarcastically, the one factor holding the album again from perfection is the potential it exhibits for Intestine Well being’s future. As nice as what’s on supply right here is, you simply know the sextet are simply getting warmed up. For these in search of their indie rock artsy, out of the extraordinary and daringly totally different, strive ‘Stiletto’ on for dimension. It would simply be an ideal match.
Particulars
- Launch date: October 11, 2024
- Report label: Extremely Contagious/AWAL