by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Melbourne’s Stepmother is boiling over and ready to shred with reckless abandon. Their sound is rock ‘n’ roll on steroids, big on boogie, ripping solos, and sun-fried riffs as vast as the desert expanse. Led by guitarist/vocalist Graham Clise (Witch, Annihilation Time, Lecherous Gaze), the sound of Detroit’s proto-punk and Southern California psych is alive in the trio, even from their Australian origins. Throughout their debut album, Planet Brutalicon, due out September 29th via Tee Pee Records / Legless Records, the band tear through fuzzy anthems and dive bar scuzz, with massive hooks and chonky guitars. It sounds a bit perma-stoned, but there’s a clarity in Stepmother’s music that’s ever apparent, these songs feel part of lexicon, classic rock delivered with a punk grit.
“Fade Away” follows early singles “Settle Down” and “Do You Believe,” songs that built the band’s reputation for their dusty blooms of blistering guitars and sweltering vocals. Their latest is the record’s opening track, a song set to kick down the doors, darting around with a riff that feels jet propelled from the start, surging in all directions, stampeding through a crowded alley, but carefully constructed not to spill everyone’s drinks. The guitars really steal the show, but the vocals have an undeniable radiance, coming in with enormous harmonies as Clise weeds out those content to “fade away” from the lifers.
Speaking about the song, Clise shared:
“When writing “Fade Away” it morphed out of being inspired by Blue Cheer’s “Second Time Around,” I think. Mostly just the basic chord structure, it ended up taking a left turn pretty fast though. I wanted the lead breaks to sound like a tortured horse. Lyrically it's about how the most opinionated and outspoken people in any kind of music scene usually lose interest and move on pretty quickly to something else once they get a little older, which is fine by me.”