Those with one eye already on the Brisbane music scene would be well aware that The Trouble With Templeton is one of the most meticulous outfits to emerge from our streets in quite some time. But that was based on a previous, more solo EP from frontman and songwriter Thomas Calder, a bunch of stunning live shows and a couple of recent radio singles. Now you can add the debut album – Rookie – to that list and, quite seriously, the journey just keeps getting better and better.
It'd be obvious to call Calder's voice the not-so-secret weapon at the forefront here but when added to a list of uncompromising songs that traverse the very spectrum of popular music, a sublime production from local Matt Redlich and flawless execution from the now five-piece outfit and you're well on your way to checking all the boxes.
A dark atmosphere hovers over the opening Whimpering Child from the word-go and it builds frantically into some haunting Calder vocal prowess. The subsequent and recent single You Are New is an unsurpassable ballad not unlike something Jeff Buckley might do, not vocally but more in execution and aesthetic, with a heavy lyrical undertone and a stunning hook. The radio rockers are here back to back – Like A Kid with its Def Leppard thump and chant, and the exceptional Six Months In A Cast – while Glue is in the same vein as the latter, a future favourite and a late album highlight.
It's impossible to criticise Rookie, this is world-class material from a world-class outfit. It's not one to watch, it's one to get behind, to flog and to show your mates.
