Delivery are a new modern post-punk band from Melbourne who are quickly building a large following despite being difficult to google. Forever Giving Handshakes is the 5-piece band's debut album, to keep things good and varied they share the vocals between four of the band who are Rebecca Allen, Lisa Rashleigh, Sam Harding, Daniel Devlin and James Lynch who are a hard-working live band as there recent debut london show made more than clear, you won't be able to see them playing small clubs for very long.
The album opens with Picture This a song that has nothing to do with Blondie as the super steady drums and bass almost pulsate as they start to describe the world Delivery live in, Modern Melbourne lifestyles are about to be painted in all their messy Trouser Press style monuments to modern life.
Poor To Middling Moneymaking is about all the schemes and ideas for making a nice bit of dosh, no matter who you harm or tread on in the process, the guitars fly off, as some authoritarian asshole tries to take all the joy out of living in a punk rock city like Melbourne.
Baader Meinhof is good shouty synth based indie rock anthem, that’s already a live favorite, about not seeing things the right way, getting tricked, Rebecca Allan's vocals stray a little into Amyl & The Sniffers territory, as this fizzes along, the synth line could have been played by Shaheena Dax (from Rachel Stamp).
Office Party is not a party anthem in the normal sense, they are not shagging in the stock room, throwing up in the bosses desk drawers, but they are wondering what went down at that Office Party and what the consequences of it might be, as the bass keeps time while watching all the messy action.
No Homes sounds like The Pop Group on an agit-punk tract against the endless building of faceless towns run by property speculators only interested in the bottom line, not building communities or houses, they only want overpriced dormitories.
The Complex is one of the songs that jumped out live, it jumps out on the record too, both familiar sounding like a Pylon outtake, or like one of the Love Tractor songs with vocals, as all the odd questions are asked, but never answered as the ticking clock of the cymbal hits ticks away, waiting for the words of wisdom.
Lifetimer might nick some lyrics from Trumpton, but they are too young to know that, or to really be Lifetimer's yet, but here's hoping a band as much fun as this do get a lifetime in music. This is speedy angular post punk, all about Sam Harding's old car rather than some old muso's.
Wear It Well is having a pop at someone they want revenge from, angry jangle punk that at times feels like an adult game of tag as the tit for tat never ends.
No Balconies is an estate agent's blurb for some faceless modern housing complex, that they clearly would rather not engage with, the bland normality of the Melbourne suburbs, that could be bland suburbs anywhere, the people with mundane ambitions to have the right house the right job and the right amount of kids, who are never happy.
Born Second is slow thoughtful indie with a super spartan bassline that holds everything together, not sure how many other kids, the guy who was born in Second place's family consisted of, but he takes being the second one with bitter regret, for not being treated like the first born, well as a second born I can sympathize to a point.
Good is about the hard scrabble life of shared apartments, racing guitars, hushed backing vocals and the dichotomy of do you want to do some Good or have some fun.
The album closes with Best Western a sardonic look at life in a suburban Best Western hotel, with people up to no good, or are they, as the almost Ostrich guitar comes in, that paperwork gets taken care of, the desk clerk tries to behave like she cares what happens, day in day out, as one shift looks and feels much like any other, as she buries her head in the climactic guitar solo.
Find out more at https://deliveryband.bandcamp.com/album/forever-giving-handshakes
