Baseball Animal Kingdom by: Riki Gardner Thu:10-Apr-08 Label: Stomp Year: 2008 WB rating 75 out of 100

Baseball is the little Aussie band that could. The band that has, without the help of the corporate machine, managed to maintain and enthral a far-reaching fan base spanning from Turkey to Taiwan, notching up an impressive list of gigs along the way. It’s perhaps the aforementioned Taiwan where Baseball has enjoyed its overseas pinnacle, playing the prestigious Hohaiyan Rock Festival along such notaries as Auf Der Maur and the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

It’s easy to see why the Eastern world has come to embrace this little band from Melbourne; it embodies much of what is considered “hip” in the region. The music is loud, fast and borders ever so slightly on cabaret. This is particularly noticeable in songs such as ‘Soft Boy Factory’ and ‘She Makes Cookies’ with the tortured howls of lead vocalist Cameron Potts wailing above the jagged guitars and string ensemble. It also comes as no surprise that the Japanese particularly have embraced Baseball’s blend of post modern punk. The Japanese, who have long had a reputation for being heavily influenced by the theatrics of music, have historically supported bands who present themselves as a little over the top, which is exactly what Baseball are.

For the music fan with Western sensibilities Animal Kingdom still has a lot to offer. While only a Mr Bungle fan would call it conventional, Baseball realize the importance of melody and largely avoid the pretensions that come with the artier side of rock. It is these qualities which make their newest album not only an important local release, but an important release full stop.

At its most poignant, sophisticated moments, Baseball balance power and subtlety expertly. Providing an interlude, albeit a brief one, from the sometimes relentless pulsating riffs found elsewhere on the album, ‘Mozart and the Whale’ showcases the band at their most sonically cohesive and adds a new depth to the band’s sound.

A simple album, its lack of complexity is generally a strength. The riffs and melodies are not trying to be sonically intricate; as one of their song titles suggests, ‘It’s Going to Be Hard and it’s Going to Hurt’. Yet, the most discernable fault that the album possesses is its ability to occasionally border on the repetitive. Songs such as ‘I Have Come to Ravish my Betrothed’ tend to rely too heavily on Potts’ theatre-style vocals which often unsatisfactorily mask some generic, distorted guitars. These vocals themselves become difficult to listen to throughout the album – Potts’ banshee howls eventually becoming both the character of the band and a prime reason for the sameness that limits the album’s achievement.

Baseball has delivered a solid, entertaining and above all else enjoyable album not only to this country, but around the world. With its pop sensibilities and art rock ambition, Animal Kingdom brings hope that Australia, as a nation, really may not be as culturally dead as the recent rock scene has suggested.