Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Endless Rooms (Sub Pop)

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Endless Rooms

Sub Pop

May 06, 2022 Web Exclusive By Matt the Raven

“Pearl Like You,” the short opening track on Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s third album Endless Rooms, opens a door and hints at a slower, dreamier sound than the broiling, agile, guitar-driven pop found on the Australian band’s 2020-released sophomore album, Sideways to New Italy. But the next four tracks quickly dispel that notion and reveal the same raw energy that, in some ways, is more dense, a little more polished and certainly more ambitious.

On first listen, tracks such as singles “Tidal River” and “My Echo,” with their hard attack of cavernous and cascading guitars—similar to those made famous by U2’s The Edge—are more technical but less hook-driven than songs on previous efforts. A lot of music is crammed into these songs as each one is a densely packed mix of angular guitar riffs, thumping bass, and tight drumming. At times it’s difficult for the listener to unpack and decipher everything that is going on, but substantive music exists for those willing to put in the time.

It isn’t until the sixth track, on single “Dive Deep,” that things loosen up a bit and get more endearing with a slinky bass line and a wiry guitar solo. Elsewhere, tracks such as “Blue Eye Lake” and “Saw You at the Eastern Beach” show off a precise balance between burly riffs and contagious hooks with a layered, three-guitar attack reminiscent of ’70s rockers Dire Straits and Blue Oyster Cult.

A couple songs are too ambitious and get bogged down with less of the sparkle that makes Rolling Blackouts C.F. so appealing and instead try to impress with too many musical ideas that the listener may have trouble navigating through it all.

But those couple hiccups aside, what makes this album better than most is the tautness of the songwriting and sharp instrumental architectures that sound familiar without sounding the same. The multi-faceted compositions are meticulously played and melodically put together and are mostly charming with up-tempo grooves accompanied by expressive guitar leads and pleasant melodies.

Endless Rooms is mostly fashion free with impeccably arranged, tight guitar lines and is a solid, and sneakily good, record that intrigues and entertains a little more with every spin.

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