(Albert Productions) www.albertmusic.com

6

In the ‘80s, to be an Australian rock band meant that while you might eye the American market with at least a little envy, your chances of cracking it were so remote — a confluence of geography and the fact that mainstream cheese ruled the U.S. airwaves (not to mention it being the pre-Internet era) — that any fits of unrequited lust probably didn’t faze you all that much and you just went about your business of making music. As a result, those bands that did ping the radars of American fans, collectors and college radio deejays tended to be innovative and even iconoclastic at times: think Birthday Party, Scientists, Stems, Go-Betweens, Died Pretty, Lubricated Goat et al.

Nowadays, though, Australian acts that break through in the U.S. tend to be cut so blatantly from Limey cloth that you half expect ‘em to tumble ashore clad in Union Jack waistcoats (hello, Vines, Jet and Mink!), the reasoning being that impressionable young music consumers of the iPod generation probably have no idea who Kim Salmon, Ron Peno or Tex Perkins are, but they’ve definitely heard of Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn and that twat from Babyshambles. That doesn’t mean that Melbourne’s Skybombers, sonic doppelgangers for Oasis (and, at times, the Libertines), aren’t worthy. In fact these fresh-out-of-high-school scruffs are a whale of a lot of fun on their debut longplayer. Insta-anthems like the thrumming “Always Complaining,” the explosive, Who-worthy “It Goes Off” and swagger-thumper “Time, Money and Me” will get the party started no matter what continent the jukebox is located on. The obligatory softer/sensitive interludes are present and accounted for too, such as strummy singalong “My Morning’s Gone,” so there’s plenty here for both the guys and the gals in the audience. There’s nothing here that approaches the timelessness of, say, “Live Forever” or “Wonderwall,” but give the band time — they’re only just beginning.

Standout Tracks: “Always Complaining,” “1, 2, 4 to the Floor” FRED MILLS