Notorious for their ultra destructive live shows that leave the next band wondering how the hell they are gonna top smashing a Fender Mustang and riding it down the stairs of the dirtiest club in town, Poison Fish bring a freshly depressing view to that all too forgotten genre: Grunge. Within that depression though, there is hope.
Don’t pigeonhole these lads though. Their new EP Donkey’s Don’t Die Young is an energetically emotional thrill ride through a band’s twisted ride of cocaine, whores, and self reflective oversights backed by instrumentality that screams, “Who cares! It’s only rock n roll”.
There’s a lot of beauty to Donkey’s Don’t Die Young. On the surface, the tracks present themselves as depressing noise filled punk rock operas; however, if you dig a little deeper and let Josh’s almost poetic pose of lyric take you on a wild adventure, you’ll find that there’s a lot more to Poison Fish than just cocaine and whores.
“Learn To Dance” opens with noise and soon bursts into a flurry of youthful sexuality as Josh tells us to fuck him. Please fuck him. That’s your choice, it’s not an obligation after hearing the record. In this journalist’s opinion, I can’t see a reason why you won’t be lining up to get a piece of this three piece after Donkey’s Don’t Die Young rubs itself into your earholes.
“Spite” is almost a “what-if-disco-were-cool” look at punk rock, and from what I can gather, consumerism, suicide, and the plastic whores that try to present themselves as real people on television. Anyway you look at it, “Spite” is an aggressive and riff filled musical circus.
There’s an almost genius level of song writing on show here. The anthemic melody to “A Line Of Coke on my Bedside Table” is hauntingly sweet, yet sour and amazingly vocally harmonized.
This is the stand out track on Donkey’s Don’t Die Young. Lyrically, it paints a picture. Musically, it audibly recreates a ride on the majestic white pony leading to an aggressive chorus reminiscent of Silverchair’s early work on Freakshow.
Actually, there’s a lot more of Silverchair‘s influence on here than the Nirvana sound that creeps through at first listen. “I’m not no one, I am nothing” says vocalist/guitarist Josh. It’s these insights of self-reflection that really give the listener something to go back and swim around in. I can’t get over how well written this song is. The refrain is beautiful, the structuring is magnificent and lyrically, the picture it paints shows a life lived beyond the years of its writer
Poison Fish are a true testament to the young talent we have in this city that so often gets overlooked for radio friendly bullshit. Do we really need another softly spoken woolen hat wearing acoustic act that portraits an ever-so-sweet Grandma loving image? Fuck no! What local radio needs is a fistful of ROCK AND FUCKING ROLL and if Triple J got their act together and realized this, young talented boys like Poison Fish would the band you’re running to see at Big Day Out. Dammit, this is where the next big things are coming from, not those hipster carbon copy acts. Lift up your eyes and look yonder Triple J.
If this EP gets into the right ears, Poison Fish will be that act alongside so many other talented Melbourne bands that take Australian music back to its right course. We’ve been lost for so many years. I hope to see Poison Fish tearing up Summer Festivals. Of course, they would probably destroy the stage and their equipment and never be welcomed back but who cares, it is pure rock n roll kids.
