:: Pinky Beecroft and the White Russians - Somethin’ Somewhere Better

Pinky Beecroft and the White Russians

If you’ve been wondering what happened to lead singer and songwriter of Machine Gun Fellatio after the band’s separation in 2005, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear that he’s found a new band and is doing fine. Pinky Beecroft has left the scandal and controversy of MGF behind and now heads Pinky Beecroft and the White Russians. A reunion of some of Australian’s best musicians, the band also stars George co-founder and guitarist Nick Steward, former MGF roadie Christian McBride and Monstars bassist Ben T. Dreamt up by Beecroft as a kid, the White Russian are, in his words, “a rockin’ little 4 piece” and their debut album Somethin’ Somewhere Better is brilliant, quirky and packing a sound all of its own. Gone are the flashing lights and craziness of MGF and in their place are songs that are mellow and cool as an autumn’s day at a hip café in the city.

Somethin’ Somewhere Better was recorded live in a hot, airless room, with piano wire and some sticky tape but you sure as hell wouldn’t know it. The album has a raw electricity that’s hard to place and putting aside comical titles like My Haircut Will Come Back Around, the songs are deep and the lyrics have real feeling, giving you the sense that you are listening to something private. Sunflowers is a perfect example of Beecroft’s agenda for the album- to write songs for himself. An epic, Sunflowers is a murder mystery in six parts. The first few bars of piano sweep you up into the tale of a soft-mouthed woman with winter nights in her skin, while the fast guitar of the bridge suggests something more sinister, leaving you with a melancholy feeling you just can’t shake off. Luckily This Hangover, despite its name, provides the cure for the blues brought on by the more delicate and haunting songs. Much closer to MGF’s signature sound, This Hangover is a great rock tune. Quick and loud, the guitar in this song is the last thing you want to hear after a long night’s bender and you’d be hard pressed to stop the catchy chorus ringing in your ears.

Somethin’ Somewhere Better is an album which does soft and sweet just as well as it does fast and rocking. Beecroft describes it as organic and earthy, and that’s exactly what it is. Free of that computerised sound you hear is so many newer albums, Somethin’s Somewhere Better is a beautiful record and an Australian music character's chance to show the country what he’s got inside.