MADDER LAKE – BUTTERFLY FARM
Victorian label Aztec Music are on a mission; to preserve Australia’s rich musical history, in particular those scores of forgotten hard rock and prog battlers from the 1970’s. And so here we have the second album from Melbourne prog-rockers Madder Lake, remastered to pristine clarity and assembled with some live bonus tracks for the fans. There is a particular honk to the vocals of Mick Fettes that is unmistakably Australian, and these tales of misplaced fairy-folk and rogue travellers are such an endearing postmark of 1970’s prog songwriting that it’s hard not to get a bit sentimental. The pub-rockier moments are perhaps the less appealing here – the unglamorous Rodney’s Birthday and the cheeky cheese of Booze Blues, perhaps don’t translate too well to the modern listener. However, witness the moog and organ-soaked tripper Mothership, daringly long at 7 minutes for the second track; an intriguing and serene ghost ride through the bones of Pink Floyd and Jon Lord. Perhaps the best track is the final of the album proper – Back Seat Song, a jaunty glam rock stomp, with Grateful Dead harmonies punctuating the simian growls of Fettes. All in all, this is a difficult album to love – with little of the subtlety or majestic musicianship of their clear muses of the time, but as a piece of rock history it holds true as a glimpse into an era of Aussie music long since faded. Rumour has it that Madder Lake are now touring again, so who knows – they may breathe new life into the pub-prog scene yet!
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