Ball Park Music have made waves amongst their native Australian press and public with their frantic and twitchy indie pop, bubbling up in the unexpectedly thriving music scene that hides in the humid and somewhat monochrome city of Brisbane with their vibrant and scampering tunes. Their new album Puddinghead is the third in three years, and is filled with energetic riffs, hormanal angst, sensual oohs and disco beats – and is that a hint of the very British and very retro Suede? Well rounded is too often a synonym for bland, but in this case it is what it suggests – a pleasing blend of many experiences channelled out into a fun and wholesome collection of songs.
And in case you were wondering…’‘Puddinghead’ used to be a Shakespearean insult. It’s the sort of name that would’ve been angrily bellowed at someone who was unable to do a simple task properly. Perhaps a cook may have unintentionally burned a simple loaf of bread to a charred crisp, maybe a ewerer had spilled water over an important rich person or a cottar grew tired and somehow messed up his menial swine-herding. Each of these occasions may have called for this insult, whether it be screamed from the mouth of a bloated, red faced aristocrat in breeches and a ruff, or chuckled in jest by a lowly peasant. In short, ‘Puddinghead’ wasn’t usually a good thing.’