:: Screenings - The Sunshine Pills Conspiracy Theory

Screenings

From the snapshot of a needy B-grade actor in the breezy pop of The Only Film To See, to the lo-fi rock of Words Of Comfort with its sardonic chorus, “the only words of advice, why don’t you get out of bed/ the only words of comfort, why don’t you snap out of it”, it is clear that Melbourne five-piece Screenings revel in deadpan misery paired with undeniable pop smarts. Perhaps the quintessential example of this is Sunshine Pills, a jaunty ode to nervous meltdown which skips along like a bipolar Ray Davies. Elsewhere, the Kinksy bounce is ditched for the art-rock drone of sixties New York; Reflections in A Lone Star Bar is an unstoppable Velvet Underground wig out, and fittingly so, as the lyric describes an alcohol-fuelled conversation with Sterling Morrison. Without a dud in sight this intriguing album is consistently rewarding, making Screenings a band to be watched.