This Canberra quartet have always been an ambitious lot with a confident eye on greatness. Their first album, Atlantis, suffered for it; a particularly frozen production, its over-studiousness was the sound of a young band tripping over its own aspirations. With their second disc, however, Sidewinder delivers big-time. From the propulsive opener, "Otherside of Life," Tangerine beats you over the head with how good they are and how much better they’re going to get.
While the single "Titanic Days" is a cool bit of radio rock with more than a touch of You Am I about it, this is a band with its own thing happening: hard psychedelic pop with a keen ear for sounds and a bunch of arrangements busy with trying to fit them all in - backwards guitars, phased vocals, loops, sitars, samples, you name it... "Mad Woman of the Universe" in particular is a striking work of Bristol-inspired post-Gregorian weirdness.
Some of the best tunes here, however, are the acoustic numbers. "It’s About Us" is gorgeous while "Way Back Home," with its finger picking and phased breakdown, could have come straight off The Notorious Byrd Brothers.
It’s strong ‘60s feel aside, Tangerine is anchored by a hard beat throughout; this is one melodic steamroller whose accomplishment and breadth is often breathtaking. It also reeks of the same confidence that made Drop City and Regurgitator’s last albums so noteworthy. Like them, Sidewinder’s sonic ambitions of pub slog and Oz Rock to create music that sounds great wherever you’re coming from.
