by Conor Lochrie (@conornoconnor)
Jake Robertson is prolific, of that there is no doubt. Part of Australian bands of repute like Ausmuteants and School Damage, Alien Nosejob became his solo project when his will determined it to. The new LP Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud was released this week on the excellent Anti Fade Records in Australia and Drunken Sailor Records in the U.K. and is a monumental noise punk album.
Releasing music under this moniker for a few years now, the wobbly pop leanings of 2018’s Various Fads And Technological Achievements has been darkened by a heavier sound this time round and this is no bad thing. Where that release channeled those other solo sonic adventurers R. Stevie Moore and Syd Barrett, the noise and thrash has been - aptly for an album titled Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud - turned up significantly.
The twelve songs vibrate with consummate technique and earnest effort; Robertson needs no overwhelming narrative or ponderous stylistic touches. All his attention and experimentation this time is focused on the ways in which he can weave his instruments coherently together to make a punk record of worth.
His wry vocal dips between being incoherent and being screamed above his fizzing bursts of guitar, and not one song rises over four minutes long, as all good punk albums should never, meaning the listener never has a moment to ponder or let up. Robertson still possesses the fine ability to play lighter, however, harkening back to Various Fads: the jangle pop of “Weight Of The World” immediately undercuts the frenetic and anxious opener “Television Sets,” with a memorable chorus and catchy hooks; “Rainbow Road” plays so close to The Cleaners From Venus as to be a homage to that iconic DIY outfit.
Hard punk dominates, though, particularly in the cutting “Black Sheep,” an outsider punk anthem that suffocates with its intensity. “Emotional Rep”’s throbbing drums are topped by an almost Iggy-like shouted vocal delivery. Any lyricism of note is classic punk fare, dripping with nonchalance and attitude, such as when Robertson tells “my friends that I don’t need no love no more” on “Don’t Need Your Love”. It’s the most overtly personal single contained within the album but still consists of an innate universality.
It’s unclear whether Robertson will continue releasing as Alien Nosejob or return to his other projects in 2020 but, if one was to judge on this album alone, it would be hoped that there’s a future for this solo venture. When mainstream music output is polished to such a fine degree today as to feel overwhelmingly artificial, it’s vital to have pure musicians like Robertson putting out honest and passionate releases like this.