:: Epicure - Postcards From A Ghost

Epicure

Ballarat band Epicure’s new album is in one word: vicious. Postcards From A Ghost doesn’t mess around with niceties; the opening song Snakes and Foxes goes straight for the jugular, perfectly broadcasting lead singer Juan Alban’s frame of mind… pissed off. Stepping away from the slower and sadder sound of their last album Main Street, Epicure uses their new record to show an angrier side of themselves. The songs are sinister and darker rock tunes tinged with a little country flair and rumour has it the lyrics tell the tale of Alban’s own failed relationships. Despite this melancholic, broken-hearted undertone, Postcards From A Ghost has some intelligent and memorable songs. The band’s first single, Cobra Kisses has a great old-style saloon piano riff and catchy sound. Alban’s voice is raw and deep, while new guitarist, Mick Hubbard adds a much needed muscular feel to Epicure’s music. In Loves Me Not, Alban’s voice sounds scaringly like The Whitlams' Tim Freedman, while Ghosts Under the Guillotine, a soulful song about lost love and extra-marital affairs, is simply sublime with its slow and stirring melody and sad folksy guitar.

But Postcards from a Ghost isn’t all tears and depressed looks, there are definitely some more upbeat moments. Empire in Decline might detail Alban’s disdain for modern society but at least the melody is faster paced, the drums throbbing and the guitars forceful and demanding. Accused of being boring, Epicure have added an extra gear to their new album. Postcards From A Ghost might be the band’s fifth record but it’s definitely not more of the same thing. Diehard fans will love it because it remains true to the outfit’s unique alterno-rock-meets-country-jamboree sound but the album might even earn the local band some new followers. Flawlessly produced, Postcards From A Ghost is extraordinarily moving, even if you’re not suffering from a broken heart.