A taste of things to come
In preparation of their upcoming full-length releases, Melbourne rock acts Horsell Common and Trial Kennedy have decided to join forces and fill in the downtown with a split E.P., humorously enough titled The Birds And Bees (Well I guess to fully understand the joke, you need to check out the complete artwork featured in the booklet).
Split down the middle with three songs apiece, three-piece act Horsell Common (Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Mark Stewart, bassist/vocalist Luke Cripps and drummer/vocalist Leigh Pengelly) starts off proceedings with a couple of new tracks in Everlasting and “Milk Was A Bad Choice”. Much like the sound that was heard on 2005's Lost A Lot Of Blood, Horsell Common deliver plenty of big riffs, powerful drums and huge melodies (Helped with D.W. Norton's impeccable production), with both numbers easily slotting alongside their previous efforts.
For the next couple of tracks, Trial Kennedy (Who are vocalist Tim Morrison, guitarist/vocalist Stacey Gray, bassist Aaron Malcolmson and drummer Shaun Gionis) offer an insight into their new direction from 2005's Picture Frame E.P., with plenty of rock coming in Sonic Affair, while My Idol Who? begins somewhat subdued, before eventually turning into an unstoppable all out sing along anthem.
Tidying up the remainder of the E.P., we're blessed with a cover version from each band, with Horsell Common putting in a stripped back/raw acoustic rendition of Trial Kennedy's Knife Light, while Trial Kennedy return the favour with an interesting and laid back acoustic version of Horsell Common's The Disaster.
With plenty of new material from the pair, and a slight twist on the old to spice things up, The Birds And Bees is the perfect stopgap release for both, and one that only reinforces what many had already suspected - Both Horsell Common and Trial Kennedy are destined for even bigger and better things this year.
(Helltrack Records/Set Fire To My Home Records/Shock Records Distribution)
