Great Earthquake- 'Drawings'

There is no doubt that the word on the street is that Melbourne-based Noah Symons, aka Great Earthquake is a talented musician and soundscape mastermind. His first album released this month, Drawings is the proof of just how talented he is. This is his first solo-album after his work with post-punkers Flag and Forget. Drawings is an unique, energetic, crowded entanglement of interesting and beautiful sounds.
Most of the time when I listen to music I tend to instinctively focus on the lyrics and how they relate to the overall sound, but here there is very limited lyrics. The album consists of 9 instrumental tracks, with only two of these featuring any vocals. The stories of the songs instead are told only through the instruments and music alone, vocally expressed lyrics are not needed. The sounds wind and twist and speak for themselves.

Drawings is the perfect album title, the tracks sound like drawings- starting as bizarre scribbles but leading you to somehow make out faces, stories and places from these scribbles. Symons claims that part of his inspiration/influences is the hills where he lives, in outer-Melbourne you can here this in his work, you can picture landscapes from while you listen. After listening to the L.P I was not surprised to find out that Symons is also a visual artist. Here the feisty accordion, amazing drums, guitar, bells, etc are working as the crayons, pencils and paint.

The opening track ‘Clap Clap!’ launches listeners into an upbeat movement; bells chime and drum speed enhances. It’s a little frantic and as it builds up the strange abstract power these sounds process grow on you. Sometimes instrumentals like this try to build up but get stuck half-way and become somewhat boring but not here, it builds up with purpose and momentum, the word boring does not apply even for a minute. Not all the tracks are this euphorically energetic and intense as the opener, but all of them express this same amount of power in different ways and aspects.

Some tracks including ‘From A Memory’ are embedded with a touch of melancholy making them perfect for the Winter, especially a Winter to be spent in the seemingly ever-increasingly grey Melbourne. ‘Words and Images’, one of the only tracks with any vocals is joyous and sweet with vocals from Maude Farrugia, and the chirps of birds. The more upbeat and sweet tracks like this one successfully balance out the darker, more melancholy moments of the album, creating a sketchbook of different drawings.

If Drawings is anything to go by, Symons solo work as Great Earthquake is really something to keep an eye out for. I am sure the live shows would be something to see.
Drawings is out now, released by Sensory Projects.
See www.myspace.com/greatearthquake.

(This review was written by me, for www.thedwarf.com.au)