Cargo Records
GRAVEYARD TRAIN - Hollow LP (colour vinyl)
$41.95
Limited edition orange vinyl housed in gatefold sleeve.
Til now they've mainly been known for the live aspect of their armoury – 'that dark country gang with that guy who whacks the chain with the hammer' – but that's all destined to change for Melbourne country-noir outfit Graveyard Train with the release of their third album, Hollow.
As always, apart from their occasionally eclectic instrumentation, it's the gang vocals that really set Graveyard Train apart from the alt-country pack – the way their voices mesh in unison so powerful and stirring – but on Hollow there's more electric guitar and a more traditional drum set-up, differentiating this set of songs from their past studio work. Furthermore these songs aren't as lyrically enthralled to the realm of horror and monsters as in the past, although there's still plenty of macabre imagery.
Lead single I'm Gone is a great slice of western-tinged rock'n'roll and a great precursor to the album, but the real highlights lie elsewhere: how Mary Melody morphs from smooth bar-room beginnings into a rousing singalong; the way the stripped-back Life Is Elsewhere glides atop vaguely Morricone guitar lines; how The Doomsday Cult Blues is as perfectly dark and creepy as its title would have you expect, with its Nick Cave-esque sensibilities; or when the slow-paced Armageddon lament The End Of The World closes things perfectly with a portent of doom, a sinister finale you can sense coming from a mile off.
Til now they've mainly been known for the live aspect of their armoury – 'that dark country gang with that guy who whacks the chain with the hammer' – but that's all destined to change for Melbourne country-noir outfit Graveyard Train with the release of their third album, Hollow.
As always, apart from their occasionally eclectic instrumentation, it's the gang vocals that really set Graveyard Train apart from the alt-country pack – the way their voices mesh in unison so powerful and stirring – but on Hollow there's more electric guitar and a more traditional drum set-up, differentiating this set of songs from their past studio work. Furthermore these songs aren't as lyrically enthralled to the realm of horror and monsters as in the past, although there's still plenty of macabre imagery.
Lead single I'm Gone is a great slice of western-tinged rock'n'roll and a great precursor to the album, but the real highlights lie elsewhere: how Mary Melody morphs from smooth bar-room beginnings into a rousing singalong; the way the stripped-back Life Is Elsewhere glides atop vaguely Morricone guitar lines; how The Doomsday Cult Blues is as perfectly dark and creepy as its title would have you expect, with its Nick Cave-esque sensibilities; or when the slow-paced Armageddon lament The End Of The World closes things perfectly with a portent of doom, a sinister finale you can sense coming from a mile off.
