The sound and the fury are back on the third album from Melbourne punk trio Cable Ties. ‘All Her Plans’ harnesses the band’s signature rage as they pummel through songs that are equally frantic and tender, veering from expressing frustration with the status quo to heartfelt and sincere odes to loved ones.
Jenny McKechnie’s distinctive vocals are the vessel through which she presents the world as we know it – and the world as she thinks it should be. Turning a sharp eye onto the failures of the healthcare system to protect the vulnerable on the wailing first single ‘Perfect Client’, she repeats “We’ve got no place for you to go” against an undulating bass line and wall of guitar. It’s a refrain that hits like a punch.
That energy continues on the righteous ‘Silos’, as McKechnie’s rapid speak-singing hurtles the listener through the life of someone struggling with Centrelink and then explodes into an indictment of the government’s inability to deal with actual issues and reliance on the carceral system. “Politicians use a tragedy to prove that they’re strong men / then incarcerate the victims that they’re claiming to protect,” she spits. It’s urgent and topical stuff, delivered at breakneck speed.
These are classic Cable Ties songs, combining the group’s tight musical energy and chemistry with their clear-eyed vision for a more equitable society. McKechnie’s bulls-eye lyricism is as sharp as it is rhythmic – it’s what this band has always done best. There’s anger here, of course, but it is driven by kindness and hope.
But there are softer moments on ‘All Her Plans’ which reveal a new kind of intimacy for the band. On the folksy ‘Mum’s Caravan’, McKechnie’s voice takes on a gentler timbre as she considers the sacrifices her mother has made – it plays out almost like a Courtney Barnett song, all suburbia and regret.
On the beautiful ‘Time For You’, she slows down and reflects on the safe haven of secure romantic love. In a lovely contrast to the despair McKechnie expresses elsewhere, this is a love letter to the comfort and necessity of human connection in the face of the modern world’s increasingly inescapable political and sociological turmoil. The songwriter’s use of repetition across this album drives home her messages, and it’s especially moving here.
Melodies here are as often traditional as they are abstract: ‘Thoughts Back’ is built on dissonant harmonies that clash against the insistent, thumping rhythms backing the chorus, with drummer Shauna Boyle taking the lead on vocals for the first time. McKechnie climbs to an ethereal high on ‘Too Late’ against piano and organ, before her vocals split into their usual loose yell.
‘Deep Breath Out’ does what it says on the tin, as McKechnie sings to a troubled family member with love and understanding. It closes out the album, providing a soft landing for an unrelenting record heavy with emotions and themes, but still carrying a striking vulnerability that leaves an impression.
‘All Her Plans’ is a sonically more adventurous and varied album than the band’s previous output, but retains a strong sense of cohesion even as it barrels in multiple directions. Cable Ties are one of the most consistent and passionate bands in Melbourne both in the studio and on the stage – here is another manifesto, another soundtrack, for a better future.
Details
- Release date: June 23
- Record label: Poison City / Merge Records