Playtime For John Mountain is an album of scale rarely attempted by an Australian band. While a large bulk of Australian music falls prey to an insidious myopia – but, hey, so does most of the world’ music – The Rectifies’ third record is a grandiose statement that revels in harmonious textures and flights of psych fancy. Certainly what this Melbourne band is attempting isn’ anything new: their anachronistic sound harks back most obviously to The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour EP and The Zombies’ Odessey and Oracle. But what makes it so endearing is that, aside from Australian bands like Richard In Your Mind and The Crayon Fields, not many acts would attempt to pull of an album as wide-eyed as Playtime for John Mountain.
So do they succeed? For the most part, they most definitely do. More than anything, The Rectifiers’ third record sounds like a homage to a period of time when pop music wasn’ merely one-dimensional sonic wallpaper (“Care Of Cell 44′ would sound pretty shit as a monophonic ring tone). Quasi-title track “Birds Fly Over John Mountain’ recalls The Zombies with its acoustic guitar nucleus embellished by organs, astral string arrangements and an ethereal layer of faint and distant voices. There’ a touch of The Kinks on “Blackbird (All That Is New Again)’, synthesisers telescoping into each other above an insistent beat.
What The Rectifiers lack, though, amidst the menagerie of sound is the ability to write an indelible hook. While the majority of the songs on Playtime for John Mountain sound amazing and contain deft, intelligent arrangements, it’s hard to remember any specific moments. It suggests that the band has spent too much time focusing on these arrangements rather than polishing the core of the song. The question is: if we were to peel away all the layers of strings, wind, brass, field recordings and myriad keyboards, what would the song sound like? Would it be any good?
Admittedly, there’ a lot of grey area here. Some argue that a good song should transcend its production and capture your attention whether it’s played by an orchestra or simply on a piano. Then there’ the counterargument, which states that the arrangements and production are as integral to the song as the basic melody.
Whatever side of the fence you stand on, two things are irrefutable about Playtime for John Mountain: while there’ a paucity of infectious hooks (arguably the most important aspect of pop music), the scope and vision of The Rectifies’ record is bold and audacious. It mightn’ be catchy, but it’s enchanting, beautiful and documentation of a band adept at creating a gorgeous-sounding tune. You may not remember the songs, but you’ll remember the experience.
Dom Alessio
