Album Review: The Break - Space Farm

Space music, surf music, spy music, western music… it's all very similar. So don't go calling Aussie supergroup The Break a one-trick pony, even though there are some striking similarities between Space Farm and their 2010 debut Church Of The Open Sky. It's still largely instrumental, slightly experimental, somewhat whimsical and executed with the precision you'd expect from Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey of Midnight Oil, Brian Ritchie of Violent Femmes and, now, trumpeter Jack Howard of Hunters & Collectors.

The trumpet provides the biggest point of difference between the two records, adding a magical sense of colour to songs like Majestic Kelp and Rotor. As if trumpet wasn't enough to throw you off your game, everything is kinda turned on its head when the familiar voice of Engelbert Humperdink croons through the great classic pop of Ten Guitars. Tumbling For Eons Through Turbid Atoms is as weird as it sounds, Day 300 brings a classic western vibe and Face The Music features Brian Ritchie in his most stunning vocal performance since Birdman on their last LP. The songs are decent, they're very well played and there ought to be enough variety to keep you from boredom.

The record ends in the most bizarre fashion with Space Farm Suite: Psychonauts For Freedom, Ritchie curses a star (“you fucker”) and talks about drinking UDL cans as the Gyuto Monks of Tibet chant, a synth bleeps and the band occasionally kicks in with a thick groove. The Break might be seriously good, but they don't want you to take them too seriously, thus Space Farm is a brilliantly fun piece of work.