Album Review: Shady Lane - Built Guilt

Built Guilt is the second album from Rice Is Nice-signed Sydney solo-project-turned-band Shady Lane, and it is quite a leap from the project's largely delicate 2009 debut Here We Go Down the Black Hole. From the get go, Opener sees nods to psychedelica and even hints at a Pavement influence with its space and texture underneath a somewhat aggressive electric indie guitar line. Second single Convenient Face Hinge recalls the finer moments from Super Furry Animals and is quite the catchy number with its funk-ay bass line and fun lyrics.

The album is as clever as it is musically ranging, from the hilariously vulgar opening line of Gwimmnoddles – “When our dicks go soft/How will we get off?” – and then within the same song the questioning becomes more hopeless with lines like, “Is It mad to think of dying when you can't get out of bed?” There really are no dull moments when gems such as the electronic What Future? and the weird noise-driven pop of Mother Mountain Rabbit are thrown into the mix. Then the album just offers straight-up great pop songs like the slow building familiarities of Starfish and the happy space electro-pop of album closer Happy Without Controls.

Built Guilt is a really interesting psych-pop sounding album that lures you in from first listen and then forces you to come back for more. The tracks are hooky and will no doubt propel Shady Lane into one of Australia's better alternative pop exports, just like label-mates Seekae and the similar sounding Richard In Your Mind.