Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Hope Downs [Album Review]

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Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Hope Downs
Sub Pop Records [2018]







Who: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s Hope Downs is the debut from the Melbourne, Australia quintet. Up till now the band had been earning praise and a following from several EPs they released over the last few years.

Sound: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever have the classic rock sound of older Australian groups like You Am I and The Go-Betweens while fitting right in with a newer crop of groups like Salad Boys and Parquet Courts.

TFN Final Take: It feels that the ever-changing music scene is falling short of rock bands these days so the debut from Melbourne’s Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever is a refreshing beat in the right direction. The quintet has three alternating singer-guitarists which give them the pop sense of Sloan as their sound slightly changes through the tracks but still maintain a consistent core. Hope Downs has the college jangle at times like R.E.M. combined with the raw rock of The Replacements. Many times, RBCF come off with quick guitar bursts that remind me of The Jam but then smooth things out into a more conventional tempo. With catchy tracks like “Talking Straight,” “Bellarine,” and the just over two-minute “Time In Common,” I don’t really find much not to like here. At 35 minutes, Hope Downs cruises by in one satisfying rock n roll slice that should be checked out.

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Website
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Facebook
Sub Pop Records

– Reviewed by Thomas Wilde

Thomas Wilde
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