STACK #201 Jul 2021

FEATURE MUSIC

GET YER GRILL ON WITH POLISH CLUB “R epeating yourself doesn't somehow mean you’re being more true to yourself,” says Polish Club's Dave Novak. “I think it’s the opposite; you’re just being lazy.” The Sydney duo (Novak on vocals and guitars, with drummer John-Henry Pajak) are walking that walk with bells on, as new album NowWe're Cookin' hurls from disco- rock to soaring pop while Novak's muscular melodies run effortless ring-a-rosies around sparkling, electric guitar-led instrumentation.

At half-way through the tracklist we're delivered a perfectly disparate pairing: the romantic wash of No Heaven (“You make me feel/ Like I don't need no heaven”) begins tenderly, building until the wave breaks and Novak's voice cracks with emotion. On its heels comes Whack, the album's indisputable centrepiece; it's a funk-thumping creature with syncopated drums right up front, and Novak's elastic voice flinging shapes through the rhythmic gauntlet: “Stay calm, don't fight/ Nothing matters tonight,” he intones in playful spoken-word fashion,

and we wouldn't dream of arguing the point. Closer F-ck Off & Die proves the approach is just as successful when disparate elements are mixed within the one song; Novak accompanies himself on electric guitar only, and delivers savage lines (“Why don't you just f-ck off and die/ You're like a needle through my eye”) in the most beautiful, warbling croon. Polish Club outrun so many of their peers due to their uncontainable energy, but it's their curiosity that ensures that stamina continues to bear the juciest of fruit. ZKR

Now

We're Cookin'

by Polish Club is out July 23

via Island/ Universal.

2-CD

DVD

15