http://streetpress.com.au/online_mags/TO/TO_1491/ – P35

Recorded over three years, stymied by a truly unfortunate, near-fatal encounter with a cow, Inland Sea is the latest offering from country-rockers The Re-mains, and just quietly, it’s a bit of a ripper. Fourteen tracks filled with banjos, harmonicas, horns, guitars and the whiskey-tinged vocals of singer Mick Daley. Inland Sea is the aural equivalent of a cocktail that’s been mixed with equal parts Cormac McCarthy and Mad Max, poured into a dirty boot and dragged across Australia before being drunk in the dilapidated lounge-room of an aging smack addict. It’s a bit dirty.

Each track is a narrative unto it’s own; it’s an album of short stories that cover scoring methadone and drinking tequila with the in-laws, the unfortunate demise of Nimbin drug-dealer Johnny D, and the story of one man’s gratitude to a rooster. Musically, The Re-mains twang, smack, growl and thigh-slap their way through the album, embracing the traditions of the genre but resisting the easy temptation to replace Australian motifs with those of their American counterparts.

Perhaps because of the length of time taken to record the album, Inland Sea is probably three or four tracks too long. There are songs – Copper City Motel amongst others –which are no doubt cracker live tracks, but which don’t translate as well on the record. It’s a pity, because their inclusion on the album risks detracting from some seriously good work. The dark and sprawling – and strangely Johnny Cash reminiscent – Things I Remember, Things I Forget is a standout, as is the snappy, horn-accompanied This Could Be Anywhere. There are some missteps, but the inclusion of the sublimely titled Praise Be To The Rooster and Darn Tootin’ in Saskatchewan more than make up for the tracks that probably should have been left in the studio or for the stage.

***1/2

By Helen Stringer