This Canberra quartet have always been an ambitious lot with a confident eye on greatness. Their first album, Atlantis, suffered for it; a particularly frozen production, its over-studiousness was the sound of a young band tripping over its own aspirations. With their second disc, however, Sidewinder delivers big-time. From the propulsive opener, "Otherside of Life," Tangerine beats you over the head with how good they are and how much better they�re going to get.
While the single "Titanic Days" is a cool bit of radio rock with more than a touch of You Am I about it, this is a band with its own thing happening: hard psychedelic pop with a keen ear for sounds and a bunch of arrangements busy with trying to fit them all in - backwards guitars, phased vocals, loops, sitars, samples, you name it... "Mad Woman of the Universe" in particular is a striking work of Bristol-inspired post-Gregorian weirdness.
Some of the best tunes here, however, are the acoustic numbers. "It�s About Us" is gorgeous while "Way Back Home," with its finger picking and phased breakdown, could have come straight off The Notorious Byrd Brothers.
It�s strong �60s feel aside, Tangerine is anchored by a hard beat throughout; this is one melodic steamroller whose accomplishment and breadth is often breathtaking. It also reeks of the same confidence that made Drop City and Regurgitator�s last albums so noteworthy. Like them, Sidewinder�s sonic ambitions of pub slog and Oz Rock to create music that sounds great wherever you�re coming from.
