Melbourne's Twerps have cited the Clean and the Go-Betweens as influences, but their new EP, Underlay, doesn't skate by on jangle-centric nostalgia. With older tracks like "Jam Song", they proved that they could ride a central groove while exploring different avenues; on Underlay, they find a similar balance between precise and unsteady. "Hypocrite" is a stellar example of this, as Rick Milovanovic's bass climbs and rollicks, consistently competing with the guitar for the spotlight. Meanwhile, drummer Alex Macfarlane (no relation to bandmate Julia) darts in several directions throughout the song, ramping up at the chorus and simmering toward the finish. The only time the band ever sound stagnant is on the instrumental title track, which is utilitarian—an unvarying two minutes, but a needed transition between "Wait Til You Smile" and "Consecutive Seasons". It's boring, and it bolsters the argument that Twerps are at their best when they stray from their set path.
If there's an MVP here, it's Julia, who sings the best two of the EP's eight songs. Her contributions are the most lyrically complex and melodically satisfying on the album; in the upbeat pop tune "Conditional Report", she notices a hole in the Flemish glass window, which is letting the wind into their house. "How did we end up like this," she asks, maybe about the situation with their house, maybe about something bigger. "Raft" is deceptively heavy, considering its warm melody, using a raft in a flood as a potent image that alludes to anything from emotional tumult to straightforward survival. McFarlane's songs here are excellent examples of how this band can communicate so much with such a sparsely populated lyric sheet.
Lead singer Marty Frawley shares this talent: "I'm just so damn sick/ I'm so sick of it all," he sings on Underlay's closer "Consecutive Seasons", a line that underlines Twerps' skill at writing songs fraught with universal, emotionally familiar sentiments. Another line in "Consecutive Seasons", however, sounds more specific: "And I don't want to sing 'Dreamin'/ It's lost every single meaning." The line is a derisive namedrop of a highlight from 2011's Twerps, an album filled with lyrics inspired by the blossoming relationship between bandmates Frawley and Julia McFarlane—songs that Frawley said left him feeling "exposed." On "Consecutive Seasons", Frawley sounds uncertain, discontent, and tired, a look that pairs well with the song's soft, bittersweet, jangling melody.
There's a video that the band made last year to tease their next album where Frawley "scolds" each member of the band, telling them to get back to work and that they haven't "earned" their soft drinks. It's a funny video, but even though Frawley is game to send up serious notions of recording music, he and his band made a well-performed, well-written, focused statement on Underlay.
