(Independent)

Adelaide’s Nervous Gerbal are not an act to be caged in by genre. Neither could they be accused of emulating any existing act in Australia’s dance music scene. Performing in furry ‘gerbal’ suits, the schizoid musical trio throw a bit of everything the listeners way with ‘In all the wrong places…’ their debut CD.

While the band’s recording isn’t big budget, their musical ideas are. Despite ‘Feet’ being cheapened somewhat by the opening vocals, there are many layers of synthesis, from percussive clicks to beautiful pads, and even occasional splashes of elegant melody. There are even moments when the bed track could be mistaken for a Prodigy b-side. The next track ‘Through the Trees’ is probably the best marriage of idea and execution. It’s a blissful electro pop tune, complete with bells, vibes and a dash of that retro Buggles charm. The Gerbal signature is there in the lyrics… it’s a tale of obsessive love (some might even call it stalking). Next, the sugary sweetness is swiftly drop-kicked and replaced by the darkness of ‘War’. Evil laughter, scratching and atonal musical ideas feature, though the vocals again let the track down somewhat. Wild and sploshy with a shouted chorus, you could almost call it a heavy rock song with a dirty groove behind it.

Always a crowd pleaser at gigs, ‘Pussy Lover’ shocks and entertains in equal measure. This is ‘no holds barred’ Gerbalism with an intro that swings from an Eastern lilt to in-your-face lyrical perversion. Discussing everything the title suggests while a sitar twangs away in the background, the song is dark, exotic and ridiculous. Once again, there’s an element of The Prodigy with some laser-cutter synth and some nice ringing cymbals carrying the instrumental bed.

After the curious chaos of ‘Pussy Lover’ comes ‘Looking for Love’- a trancey stomper. The track features a litteny of twists in the arrangement, probably to the detriment of a dancefloor. Jangling string sounds carry the chorus, while drummer Con goes berserk on the fills like nothing you’ll ever hear in a trance DJ set. Layer upon layer of synth is added, before the vocals cut away to leave a pulsing synthline, and straight down the line beat. If these lads produced a straighter version of this track based around the chiming string line, they could have a Trance hit on their hands. But that simply wouldn’t be Gerbal then, would it? Closing the EP is ‘Wedding’ is an instrumental like nothing I’ve heard. The drum track is in an uncountable time signature, and is as technically demanding as you’d ever expect to hear in dance music. Farting synthesizers speak forth in alien tongues over the top, leaving you wondering what kind of wedding this song could possibly relate to.

While at times a little sloppy in performance and production, this CD is unabashedly Gerbal. It’s dirty, stupid, crazy and ambitiously complex. Clearly this crew have some sound ideas, and the courage to blaze their own trail- two element that I consider rare and commendable. To get the most out of this disc, I suggest catching the Gerbals live first for the full sensory assault.