HOCKEY Dad have proven across their albums Boronia (2016) and Blend Inn (2018) that they possess a canny knack for combining scuzzy surf-rock energy and melody.
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Those melodic strengths are accentuated on Brain Candy. The Wollongong duo of Zach Stephenson (guitar, vocals) and Billy Fleming (drums) haven't tossed out the qualities that brought success, but their repertoire has diversified.
Hockey Dad were once heavily influenced by Nirvana, the point of reference has extended to other American '90s bands like Soundgarden and Weezer and even back to Sydney's You Am I.
Brain Candy is an album of halves. The first phase concentrates on Hockey Dad's energetic rockers like Good Eye and In This State, before the album takes a experimental and psychedelic route with the early Radiohead-inspired Itch, the Americana groove of Keg and the hazy Reno. The 13-track album ends with the epic Looking Forward To Change, which begins with a pretty melody before erupting in a thrash of psych drone.
Hockey Dad have grown and smartened up on Brain Candy.
3.5 stars
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
