Tropical Fuck Storm - A Laughing Death In Meatspace

Joyful Noise

May 4th, 2018.

The debut album from Aussie quartet, Tropical Fuck Storm, ringed in a new age for the sphere of animalistic and chaotic tunes. Lead by Gareth Liddiard's rabid ramblings and backed by the visceral festerings brought by the trio of Fiona Kitschin, Lauren Hammel and Erica Dunn, TFS carved a unique lane for themselves. Suffice to say 'A Laughing Death in Meatspace' welcomed a giant to the ranks.

The total lack of sophistication, and seeming lack of care towards it, became an endearing quality of the band as they quickly became a stronghold on the scene; front-runners in some cases. The book of insanity was read front to back; then read again to soak up the nuance that lay behind - the dust that crept through the cracks. With the potential to be explosive - potential often met - TFS border on the insanely instinctive; the helplessly quirky aspects of their material only add to the eye-bulging, head-turning and intoxicating alchemy presented.

A Laughing Death loosely sticks to the rules and intelligently plays off of them at the same time. The left of center approach to instrument effects and placement throws things off in a refreshing and unruly manner; a lot of it comes under the banner of being potentially 'dumb' - in a similar way to how Josh Homme dismantles pieces down to cowboy standards - TFS break things down into utterly deranged fragments. It shouldn't work, and for that exact reason it does - at odds with the norm, they stand out. As confusing as it sounds, it's part of the magic; confusion may even be the key ingredient to it. It adds a little, or a lot, of madness into the already tilted mix.

Five years on and we're still yet to find another band that can match the organized chaos that TFS bring to the table.

You Let My Tyres Down.