Regurgitator Double: Ben Ely & Quan Yeoman
Despite not releasing an album this year, Regurgitator have been far from complacent. Duel vocalists/song-writers Ben Ely and Quan Yeomans have both released side-project/solo albums respectively in the past few months whilst also managing to tour the UK with their mother band for the first time in over five years.
Over the last fifteen years, these two have managed to cover most musical genres and so it’s not hard to spot reflections of their stylistically disparate side-projects in Regurgitator’s back catalogue. What is common between all is the energy and sense of fun that has united Regurgitator’s output beyond generic delineations.
But enough about that band – these new albums deserve attention on their own merits.
Ben Ely’s Radio 5 – ‘I’m Psyched’
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Starting firstly with Ben Ely’s Radio 5, which, like Ben Folds’s initial band, is actually a three piece. I’m Psyched distills dueling, distorted power chords and a relentless drum beat and into three minutes of unassuming hard pop. The arrangement is tight and simple but manages to sound as loose and loud as a house party at 3am. With stuttering expression in the verses and a chorus consisting merely of “Oh Yeah,” the song exhibits the effectiveness of simple vocal hooks that will serve pop music well until the form finally collapses on itself. The fun atmosphere and lyrical playfulness heighten the directness of the song whilst intentionally obscuring the thought in both composition and production.
Quan - ‘And This Is What She Said…’
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Quan’s solo album certainly highlights the origins of Regurgitator’s hip hop digressions. Greeted by electronic squeals, the listener is soon taken to a looped guitar stomp and drum line beneath vocals “about a girl who broke my heart in seven places,” replete with rhythmic doubling. The song is misleadingly simple until a bridge of chopped up vocals, synth string stabs and percussive punctuations extends the sonic palette considerably. Though the song contains scattered beeps and noises throughout it is certainly one of the more simple, stripped-backed offerings from his album. The production, though minimal, is nonetheless intelligent – particularly in the afforementioned bridge – and the beats Quan constructs are as strong as anything he’s done before. And This Is What She Said… stands with conviction alongside tracks by other Australian artists more notable for their hip hop output.
