Review Summary: Forgettable solo record from a man capable of unforgettable rock songs.
People change. Catching up with someone you haven’t seen in ages often results in discovering aspects of their character that have dramatically shifted since you last saw them- and for many, this won’t necessarily be a good thing at all. It’s time for fans of Australian rock to catch up with Mark Maher, best known as Finlay’s finest drummer/vocalist double-threat, Kram from Spiderbait. It’s been nearly five years since his band dropped their last LP, Tonight Alright, and in that time Maher has found himself with both a marriage and a child. He’s had a lot of down-time recently, and in a way that rears its head on
Mix Tape, his first solo record. Admittedly, most solo albums from musicians in established acts can come off as quite hit-and-miss affairs, but in Mix Tape’s case, we’re unfortunately looking at a 70/30 split- in misses' favour.
From press releases surrounding the release of Mix Tape, Maher’s ambitions was to have the album in the style of a radio station, with many different kinds of songs. Kudos to the guy for the inventive idea, but it really does seem like we’re mostly stuck on the same two stations. The first is a crummy bogan-rock station, complete with caveman chord progressions and f
uck-yeah-rock-and-roll lyrics- see opener "Good Love" and lead single "Silk Suits" as the worst offenders. The second is an “oldies” station, playing dull soft-rock and soft funk like "Satellite" and the monstrously repetitive closer "Down the Line". Whilst it has been reported that
Mix Tape has been nearly two years in the making, it’s really hard to pick- the bulk of these fifteen tracks sound like half ideas that are poorly executed and quite boring.
Thankfully, the tracks that deviate from these two formulas provide momentary sighs of relief. "Long Cold Night" is tucked away right at the end of the tracklisting, and yet proves to be one of the few songs not worth skipping. The song presents Maher on his lonesome with his acoustic guitar, with gorgeously-arranged finger picking and breathy falsetto. It’s very low key, but this time it’s actually a very good thing. "Turn A Light On" and "Live a Long Time" turn out to be not half-bad either, surprising growers of tunes with a solid groove and some charming piano accompaniment on the former.
It’s untoward, really, that slight glimmers of excellence are eclipsed by mediocrity on
Mix Tape. Amongst its many flaws is the fact that Kram plays everything on the album himself. Admirable? Absolutely. But the man is decidedly limited in his skills on each instrument that isn’t his forte. Let’s face it- Mark Maher was born to be behind the drums, and there’s no better example of that than the killer drum solo entitled "Thankyou, Mr. Ludwig". It feels almost puerile to insist that Kram needs Janet and Whitt in order to create the excellent music that he is capable of making. There is, however, enough proof on this record to substantiate these claims.
Put it this way- Mix Tape probably sounded a hell of a lot better in Kram’s head.
