ROOT! - Root Supposed He Was Out Of The Question (Album)

You know who ROOT! remind me of? Remember that band, shit, what were they called.....TISM? Yeah, sure sounds a lot like those dudes. Like, whatever happened to them? Anyway, ROOT! and their debut rekkid, Root Supposed He Was Out Of The Question, pull all the punches possible here. Everyone gets a taste; Pauline Hanson, Tex Perkins, Caroline Springs, bogans, Idol, young folk, even Australia (for no real reason...oh, other than its ghastly Americanisation...oh, and its supposed support of multiculturalism coupled with its ardent racism...*salutes*)

ROOT! have managed to couple keen musicianship with cheeky vitriol; my favourite combination. Opening with I Wish I Was Tex Perkins- an ode to Oz’s favourite dirty rocker and “every sunkissed Aussie girl’s favourite kind of shady”. There is local humour in tracks like Spring Me Out of Caroline Springs, Caroline and Shazza and Michelle from Bendigo as well as a word or two on Kids These Days; “you’re not really a Prisoner of Society” on Young Man Blues Blues. To use a tired simile, the cherry on the ROOT! cake is frontman DC’s delivery; he spits out caustic and witty verses, mixing them with catchy hooks and the occasional yee-haw moment. The band behind him, though, fulfil their share too; playing an energetic blend of country, rockabilly and rock’n’roll.

ROOT! aren’t here to top the ARIA charts, we can be sure of that. Their satire wouldn’t last a minute up against the dim public when they could be listening to Katy Perry. But, for those who care to eavesdrop (i.e.; anyone who doesn’t give a shit that she kissed a girl, oo-err, how daring, Katy- what next? Cutting the crust off your Nutella sandwich?) ROOT! won’t disappoint. You’ll find everything you need to feel a little better about the State of Things, including, but limited to; “Welcome to Australia, the wide brown land, where we speak Ameri-can. Girls are divas, guys are playas, in the juice bar- what’s your flava?”

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