Album Review: Ball Park Music - Every Night The Same Dream

Ball Park Music have always been consistent with their songwriting.

While the band are increasingly distancing themselves from their earlier sound, their knack for writing kinetic rock songs has kept the Brisbane five-piece in good stead with fans as they have switched between styles. Their fourth record is then somewhat of a statement of identity from the band, recorded analogue to tape on a four-track recording machine in an attempt to replicate the sound and energy of their live show.

The first half of the album is loaded with gritty riffs, full of heavily distorted instruments and bustling with ambition. The cowbell during the percussive breakdown of Pariah recalls the type of monolithic dance jam you'd expect from a band headlining the rave tent at a music festival, which only lasts for a few ecstatic moments before the song changes gears again, as chugging guitars sneak back in the mix and stray synthesiser notes start flying through the atmosphere. It's the type of electric energy that can only come from people playing together in the same room.

The second half of the album is a mellower affair, although no less stubborn in its commitment to experimentation. The melodic sounds of Leef usher in a slew of songs that unwind into hypnotic guitar lines and breathtaking harmonies. There's even a string section employed at one point. The best part of it all is that once the album nears its strikingly unsentimental finish, it just itches to be played again from the beginning.