Review - Bottle self-titled independent EP

Bottle have been around for not a little while, slowly making a name for themselves, playing their brand of not-quite-alternative not-quite-pop commercial-edged rock around Sydney. Their reputation is building as surely as their crowds, and that name is affirmed in the release of their self-titled independent 4-official-track EP.

The sound created on stage, from the vivid memory of seeing them twice in 1996 by high recommendation, is recreated here in the studio with the obvious added polish of plenty of pre- and post-production. Archies, especially the vocals-added lead track, stands out both from those gigs and this record; Fair Call comes over quite Michael Stipesque vocally over a straight-ahead rock track and some Cold Chisel/Hitchcock Railway/REM keyboards; New Song is fairly by more of that Hitchcock Railway and a heady mix of Lady Madonna in the chorus; Sugar closes the effort officially as a ballad with superb vocal harmonies and unusual guitar discords.

If you ever see a Bottle advertised, which is rare because they make their gigs known through their own network, make an effort to check them out, and get a hold of this CD... as one Sydney journalist is know to say, it's "fine stuff"!

PG (Jacky) Gleeson

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