The Drones

Overview

The Drones are one of those inexhaustible local classics that have come to characterise so many times in our lives. The grisly 14-hour road trip when you played Jezebel on repeat through barren farmlands, that summer house party that drenched you in Carlton Draught and got The Minotaur stuck in your head for a week. With their gritty rock sensibility and Gareth Liddiard's iconic Aussie twang, this is a band that always seem to sound like home.

After touring internationally all year, this is the start of a home-run tour to launch their raucous second single, A Moat You Can Stand In off their sixth studio album, I See Seaweed. Like so many of their tracks, the brutal and unrelenting style of the garage-rock sound is offset by some surprisingly nuanced and finely-crafted lyrics. Surprising, only if you don't know the band, really. Liddiard has long been lauded as one of Australia's best storytellers, and this new album proves he hasn't lost his touch.

Though it's been awhile between drinks — their last release was 2008's much-loved Havilah — it's great to see The Drones strike back with an album that takes their customary dark fables to a finessed and exciting new level. I See Seaweed is already nominated for the 2013 Australian Music Prize and the band's dance card is pretty full with this national tour followed by the Harvest Festival in November.

Hype of the new album aside, when it comes down to it, The Drones are just an excellent band to see live. You should get a pint of the nastiest beer on tap, work your way to the front, and let Gareth Liddard's errant spit rain down on you as the band cements itself, once again, as one of the strongest forces in Australian rock.