by Aaron Gidney

Australia’s Groom Epoch, release their new single ‘Soft Explosion’ via Golden Robot Records. For those unaware of Groom Epoch – it’s a project led by ex-The Church drummer, Richard Ploog and features an all-star cast of Australia’s finest. According to the Golden Robot bio, ‘Groom Epoch is an all star cast of uber cool musical iconoclasts combining their talents creating a super stellar sound.This world class collective are paving the way for a bright tomorrow.’ It doesn’t appear that the project is a much of a live entity either, with only select shows being performed in the past.

‘Soft Explosion’ is an interesting eclectic mix of styles, almost avant-garde in places. The track features some laid back drum grooves throughout, along with cascading piano lines, bluesy guitar licks and lower-register, almost spoken-word double-tracked vocals throughout. There’s no real chorus so for those looking for catchy melodies – look elsewhere. It feels minimalist for the majority but there’s plenty of musical movement and enough ear-candy for those wanting to analyse the musical layers. I must say the guitar work is particularly jarring throughout the track and somewhat detracts from the nice piano work in the background, but the track is weird enough to at least bring itself some attention.

It’s a fairly short single at 4 minutes 12 seconds and even if it’s not your cuppa tea (it’s not mine), it’s not overly offensive.

Online: https://goldenrobotrecords.com/golden-robot-records/groom-epoch/