Album Review: Sunnyboys - Sunnyboys (Expanded Edition) (1981, 2014)

Posted by Retrokaiser On Tuesday, June 10, 2014 0 comments



Welcome back to another fabulous installment of "Kaiser Records: Written Edition".  We are now up to the sixth edition and I'll be taking a look at a special re-release of the Australian band "Sunnyboys" 1981 self-titled debut album.  See you all after the jump.  (Click "Read More" to read the full review).

The sound you get on this album is a very nice punk rock sound mixed in with some pop and new wave influences. I really loved the style found on this album as it was done brilliantly with a very up-lifting vibe that can be found while hanging out at a bar with all of your friends. The sound quality on this album sounded very clean yet still had an underground punk feeling all at the same time.

The instruments were full of basic playing but done really well. The guitar playing is quite relaxing even though it can sound quite repetitive with nothing but soft sounding power chords. There isn't anything much going on with the drumming on this album as it has a very limited sound but it does support the other instruments well so it does enough to get the job done. The vocals on this album is what adds life to the songs as they were very nice sounding and also quite original and you'll find yourself staying in listening to the album like how a sailor is caught in a Siren's trap and ends up being pray for it's meal... Although you will not find yourself being eaten by the band while listening to this album thankfully (I sure as hell do not want to be eaten while listening to music).

A problem I did have with some of the songs is that the intros can sound a bit samey with the exception of one instrument having changed it's tune to make the song try to sound original and it comes off sounding a little lazy. Those songs end up sounding pretty darn great once the songs pick up and begin to sound more original. Another problem is that I wish that there was a bit more variety in the sound as the songs do also sound quite repetitive although they were quite original sounds but still more variety would've been nice.

Once the initial album is over you are greeted to a whole load of bonus tracks that range from B-sides, live tracks, and a whole disc full of demo recordings. The B-side tracks on this album were actually quite decent and went very naturally with this album. Once the live stuff hits the mood changes dramatically but not in a bad way and I really do love the "Pub Rock" vibe from those said tracks. The demo tracks on this release were really solid and were worth a listen.

The quality on the demo tracks were surprisingly not much different than the main album which gets me thinking "was this a really high class demo or a low budget album?" but in all seriousness it had some decent quality to it. Now don't get discouraged when you see the total number of tracks as you will find yourself really getting into it with the album and bonus tracks being over before you know it... Heck you'll end up setting the album up again to hear that sweet Australian pub punk sound.

Overall this was a very good album and despite it's problems with repetitiveness it did sound quite original. This album is also a great example of how great Australian music can get and I recommend this album to all and that includes both young and old alike as you will get a great kick out of this album. Highly recommended.

Album: Sunnyboys (Expanded Edition)
Artist: Sunnyboys
Genre: Rock, Punk, Pop-Rock, Power-Pop, Post-Punk, Pub-Rock
Running Time: 120 Minutes (37 Tracks)
Label: Warner Music Australia
Distributor: Warner Music Australia
Price: $22.99
Recommended: Yes

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