The Fumes - Sundancer

20 April 2009 by Max Easton

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Album Rating: 4.5 / 5

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Sundancer

With a much talked about debut and a three-year recording silence foreshadowing their second album, many were speculating that Sydney rockers The Fumes didn’t have a second one in them. With the release of their superb encore, Sundancer, though, things have proven to be just the opposite as Soulshine’s Max Easton writes.

Anyone with a penchant for live music in Australia has probably seen the Fumes. In fact, at one point they toured so frequently that it was almost impossible not to go to the local pub and see a poster for an upcoming appearance. This was spurred on by the release of their fantastic debut record, ‘Guns of Gold,’ which in turn led into yet another nation-wide tour. During and after all this touring and recording, they managed somehow to fit in support with The Beautiful Girls, a double-headline tour with The Vasco Era, exclusive support for Queens of the Stone Age, and most recently, an appearance at 2008’s Fuji Rock Festival. To top all that off, they’ve been given the honour of appearing at the Texan South-By-South West Festival and at Canadian Music Week in Toronto which they’ll be busy with leading into the release of this record, their second, titled ‘Sundancer’...and what an album it is. The two-piece guitar and drums combo - that eventuated around the same time as the Black Keys rise to fame - have pulled a rabbit out of their hat for 11 tracks of dirty, gritty, grungy, powerful blues-rock unrivalled by any Australian competition. And yeah...it will rock your socks, pants and shirts off.

The Fumes have a pretty simple band recipe. One Drum kit, one guitar (distorted and ground into aural sandpaper) and one greasy voice. The fact that they can reach a range as far-reaching as they do on ‘Sundancer’ is not just a testament to their ability to create a big-band feel from two members, but a shining example of an alternative way to create music while bands have been steadily increasing in size since Nirvana made three-piece grunge the norm. They take a step back from everyone else and write music reminiscent of the finest artists from Rock and Blues history, with shades of familiarity ranging from Led Zeppelin to Buddy Guy, yet not without a sense of their own Australian roots. But of course, you probably already know this...so what exactly is the album like?

‘Sundancer’ can be described as nothing short of fucking exemplary. From the up-tempo hard-rock highs of single ‘Python for a Pillow,’ to the beautiful, lightly-strung ballad ‘Sundancer,’ the album encompasses the Fumes spectrum and ability to sit as a fine example of their own capabilities. Probably the best example of exactly how capable these two boys from Sydney are is ‘High City Limits,’ the track sitting dead centre at the middle of the album. It’s possibly their finest work yet and one which I can comfortably call the best track I’ve heard released this year. In fact, I’m so fond of it that I’ll play ‘High City Limits’ before I listen to the rest of the album...and that’s a big deal for me. I’m an absolute stickler for preserving the sanctity of the album and the manner in which it was originally written to the point where I pause Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ just before ‘Money’ for 45 seconds to replicate changing sides on a vinyl (exaggeration) which means that ‘Sundancer’ has completely flipped my own philosophy on its head. That’s a big deal...truly, but so is ‘Sundancer.’

The album kicks off with a cheery, carnival-esque overture before the disruption of ‘Who Do You Love,’ possessing the typical energy of the Fumes before the piano introduced ‘Slay The Liar.’ The usage of keys is an unusual move for The Fumes and in part takes away from the charm of an exclusive two-piece, however, it’s moments like these that give the album that little piece of added depth. Similarly, the barely audible female backing vocals on ‘High City Limits’ gives that touch of something extra that makes this album reach past its potential and into excellence. Other highlights across the album include ‘The Letter,’ the only track where the heavily distorted guitar is toned down for lolloping Blues licks and clarity and the country-inspired ‘Psychadelic Warlord,’ harnessing the best of Johnny Cash and the aural hijinx that ran alongside cheesy Westerns of decades past. Add to that the catchy foot-tapper ‘Rogue River Woman’ and rolling, 8-minute long, stoner-rock ditty ‘Seven Year Itch’ and you’ve got yourself one hell of a fine album.

With the release of ‘Sundancer,’ The Fumes are ramping their careers up to phase two. They’ve proven that people will flock to their Australian shows en masse, they’re playing SxSW and they’re big in Japan. The missing piece of the puzzle was a second album that proves that they’re no one-trick pony, and in ‘Sundancer,’ they’ve struck gold. If you walk by this album with $30 in hand, I firmly urge you to put it on the table for this...it’s a very fine album from one of Australia’s artists most representative of the evolution of Aussie rock and a superb addition to your CD cabinet.

‘Sundancer’ is out in stores on May 8th through Inertia (Australia/New Zealand.)