Sex Mask are a post-post punk trio not a threesome, as that would just be juvenile. The NME has touted them as “Australia’s next big export” – a statement more surprising for its revelation that NME still exists.
Frontman Wry Gray says that lead single ‘Cold’ was written “somewhere near the base of Mount Fuji.” Time will tell whether Sex Mask will become, like the mountain, big in Japan. They certainly would have been big in 2005. The bass, jutting guitar lines, and rapid drums on ‘Cold’ are pure Bloc Party, though the semi-muttered vocals are like a surly Alex Kapranos.
Noah Learmouth from fellow Naarm/Melbourne dwellers Radio Free Alice joins Wray on ‘Blisters’. “Been in a full-time relationship with weed,” they grumble in unison like a pair of disgruntled Tom Grennans. ‘Curse’ begins with Halloween Wild West spangly guitar and the chorus is only slightly less rowdy than a punch-up on the stairs to the club. It would work well as an alarm tone or the last-song-before-the-gig. Your choice. On ‘Hurt’, Sex Mask combine a rebellious streak with Killing Joke guitars and the insouciance of The Cribs. “Skipped school, missed class” – the origin story of all punks.
These days, you can order a Sex Mask product without the embarrassment of asking for it in a shop and risking the judgement of bystanders. Body Broker is a product you can buy discreetly from the comfort of your own phone, but you might as well tell random people about your purchase. That way, more people buy the record and everyone’s happy.
Body Broker is out now via Bandcamp
Sex Mask: Instagram
Review by Neil Laurenson
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