Mining Tax – Degenerational Report (Workplace Safety CDRs)

You might expect a band with such a specific ‘analogue synth meets economic mismanagement’ vibe to rely too much on gimmickry, but past the initial gag lies music which holds up pretty well on its own, and actually constitutes one of the best Perth releases in recent years. It turns out that big Gary Newmanesque synth lines and reverb-drenched vocals about government debt go together like rum and coke, such as on ‘Budget Emergency’, a furious-yet-catchy tirade against governmental callousness. The synths are well arranged and manage to balance 80s cheese and compositional integrity well. As far as production goes, this is a good example of bedroom recording done right, with some remarkably well-recorded vocals and a few stylistic flourishes like the opening to C.Y., which break up all the synths nicely. The production adds a bit of grit to something that could have easily descended into pure cheese – bits of the EP sound like they’re being pumped out of a car stereo tuned to a.m. radio, that’s had a can of V.B. spilt on it, and has started chewing up your cassettes. All in all it’s like ABC News 24 and your dad’s old mix tapes had a lovechild, and that’s a good thing.

Review by Hayden Dalziel