- Sydney's Shrapnel are nominally the brainchild of Sam Wilkinson, previously known from his other outfit Day Ravies. On the debut full-length record, Tranceplanetsugarmouth, he's joined by members of notable Sydney acts like Weak Boys, Miners and Mope City, and together the five-piece have concocted a bit of an indie-rock pocket symphony. It might only barely scrape over the half-hour mark, but Trance... manages to cover a deceptive amount of territory, folding a number of influences into its primarily guitar-based, medium-fi pop.

Opener 'Backseat Driver' seemingly lays the template for the record: a medium tempo guitar riff, a laconic Aussie drawl and big group vocals in the chorus. It places the band squarely alongside their Coolin' By Sound labelmates Thigh Master, playing a similarly urgent and dextrous version of the 'dolewave' sound popularised by acts like Dick Diver. Please note: I'm not calling either Shrapnel or Thigh Master dolewave, but they certainly traverse similar territory, albeit with a bit more volume and grit coming from their guitar amps. 'Frozen Rock' follows up by slowing the tempo down a fraction and injecting a bit of jangle and twang into the sound. For the first third of the record most of the songs basically fall within the territory set out in these opening two tracks; 'Fraction Man' is a minute and half of jangle that's 90% chorus, 'Big Mouth' returns to massed vocals and big guitars, with someone doing their best Neil Young lead-guitar impersonation off in the background throughout virtually the entire song, and 'Leap Year' wears its shredded heart on its ragged sleeve (and, again, seems to be 90% chorus).

'Carpet Yankers' is where things start to change up fairly significantly. About a third of the way through its near 6minute running time the lead guitars rise out of the mix and guide us into a lengthy psych freak-out, eventually building to a wall of reversed guitars and drums before gradually tearing itself apart. It's reminiscent of the best of the lo-fi psych-pop of the Elephant 6 Collective, most notably Olivia Tremor Control. From there most of the songs return to similar sounds as the first parts of the record, but somehow 'Carpet Yankers' has slightly changed our perception of them. We notice the little synth squiggles and production flourishes that colour in the spaces left between the guitars, we hear the occasional Beatles-esque melody a bit clearer, we feel the heart-stirring moments even more intensely (especially on single and album highlight 'Another Year', which simultaneously makes you want to punch the air while waving your lighter). Mostly, we hear the ambition that previously was obscured by the ragged presentation of these songs. Shrapnel probably sit most comfortably alongside a band like Adelaide's Wireheads, although Shrapnel are of a much sunnier and sentimental disposition. As such, Tranceplanetsugarmouth is a debut that is easy to digest, but offers a significant amount of deeper pleasures on close inspection.

- Cameron Smith.