Spiderbait: Tonight Alright

Reviewed by REBECCA BARRY

Herald rating: * * *

When Aussie band Spiderbait emerged, grunge had neatly carved a path for their frantic riffage, heavy pop hooks and bassist Janet English's babydoll vocals. Considering now there are more bands trying to emulate their parents' record collections than those that came out of Seattle, the band stack up fairly well on their sixth album.

This time they've plugged into a grittier, garage vibe — the bass feels more primal, the guitars more persistent, and drummer Kram takes charge of the vocals on the growlier tracks, such as their heaviest yet, 5th Set. Even the pop tracks pack a punch, without deviating from the standard Spiderbait sound, at their best displaying a kooky deadpan humour on F***** Awesome and Cows.

But there's still something a little too clean about them, as though producing the album in California stripped something potentially menacing away. And why they chose an uninspired cover of blues classic, Black Betty as their first single is a mystery. But elsewhere the bait is just as potent.

Label: Universal