The Stroppies - Whoosh

Our dictionary suggests that "stroppy" means touchy or belligerent. We don't know if the name chosen by The Stroppies is intended to invoke that definition, but we think that it is unlikely to fit.  We find Whoosh, the Melbourne quartet's new album, to be a good-natured gem and easily one of our favorite albums of the year so far.  Of course, given the fine album the band released in late 2017 (link), we had high expectations.  And our expectations were exceeded nevertheless.  The songs on Whoosh ramble and jangle over muscular grooves with a strong but quirky sense of storytelling.  The band have pumped up the production values for this album but managed to retain an appealing immediacy and live show vibe.  While the album title suggests impermanence, these songs are anything but.  They seep further into our consciousness with every replay of the album.  And the album is replayed frequently here, with no song ever skipped.  In fact lately we've used Whoosh as a bit of a palate cleanser in between evaluating other albums.  We will listen to an album and say, "that was nice", and then play Whoosh before going to the next one.

While some writers have tried to lay the Flying Nun guitar pop mantle on The Stroppies' shoulders, it seems to us that such a comparison is unfairly narrow.  This is music that reflects AM radio guitar pop, Pavement slacker, the rambunctiousness of The Feelies as well as '80s NZ and 2010's Melbourne guitar bands.  Australia is regarded as a key standard bearer for the guitar pop flag in this decade, and Whoosh is a perfect example of why the reputation is justly earned..

The Stroppies are Angus Lord, Caudia Serfaty, Rory Heane, and Adam Hewitt.











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Bandcamp for Whoosh