Fight the Stairs is full-length album number three for Sydney-based four piece Sounds Like Winter, following on from Initiate (2016), and Sticks and Stones (2017). There was also a collaborative three-way split release with Melbourne’s Ikon, and Wellington-based post-punkers Disjecta Membra a few years back, which coincided with a short local tour. A release that got a fair bit of ear time at the everythingsgonegreen manor.
I think I hear a
little more Howard Devoto or Richard Butler in Ant Banister’s lead vocal than I
do Ian Curtis, but there’s no question those Joy Division comparisons are valid
when it comes to the rest of the band’s formula. This is post-punk of a
distinctly 80s bent, and while it does sit at the darker end of that spectrum,
it’s not so dark that it doesn’t contain the odd shaft of light peeking through
the gloom. Not unlike Sydney in winter.
There’s no singular
theme behind the lyrics found on Fight the Stairs, other than perhaps post-punk
perennials like “the human condition and all of its many flaws” or “contempt
for much of what modern life throws at us”, the song writing is strong across
all ten tracks and there’s a nice pace through the album when listening to it
in one sitting from start to finish. There’s a balance of fast and slower
tracks, carefully arranged so as to never become too weighty or overwhelming -
which is something I often struggle with when it comes to albums within this
genre.
Musically, it’s an unrepentantly retro affair; compact, tight, and polished, but not to the point that there’s no 21st century grit left in the mix. There’s no obvious filler over the course of its 45 minute runtime, with highlights including ‘The Monsters’, ‘No Interest’, and ‘He Was Gone’.
Thanks for listening and for your insight!
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