If there were ever such thing as a garage western film, Sydney two-piece The Faults should send in some material for the soundtrack.
A departure from the blues-rock of their first self-titled EP, Patients still barges through the speakers under a blanket of low-fi garage fuzz, this time moving in the direction of archetypical garage rock ‘n’ roll.
The two lead tracks, ‘Patients’ and ‘Peace Of Mind’, both have a classic composition, with scratchy, off-kilter vocals and rolling riffs.
What sets these two tracks apart is the swelling guitar and percussion crescendos in between vocals; the suspense taking you back to your favourite spaghetti western film.
‘Leather Jacket’ and ‘Summer’ are both full of impressive lead vocals sounding similar to those of The Fearless Vampire Killers’ Sean Ainsworth.
Giving a bit of shade to the record, ‘Summer’ is a slower, lustier track that adds a grittier, emotional element to the EP.
Rounding out the record is the poppiest number ‘Chivalry’, which could most likely fill any indie music club dance floor after 9pm.
Overall, Patients is a well-crafted garage rock album, but exiting from their earlier blues sound could easily see them get lost in the sea of similar acts currently on the Australian scene.
