KIRIN J CALLINAN

EMBRACISM (Terrible Records)

15/20

Kirin J Callinan’s debut album Embracism couldn’t be accused of lacking personality.

The album is a brutal assault of character, conjuring wild atmospheres and wrenching sentiment whilst hardly stopping to take stock. Callinan utilises his snarling Australian accent to threaten as well as lament, his vocals wobbling somewhere between Cave and Bowie. At times the sheer scale of growling intent in Callinan’s voice threatens to descend into maniacal spoken word. Yet for an album that aims for the visceral, it is often the softer pockets that pack the biggest punch.

Opening with the sparse industrial terrains of Halo and the title track, Callinan is able to instantly divide his listeners. The second track in particular is so theatrical in delivery, it begins to sound like a Mr G musical: “A circle forms around two lads, circle of boys, circle of boys, there’s gonna be a fight in the playground.” The natural reaction to such blunt lyricism, for many, is to dismiss it, which is a shame as the song develops fantastically to a proud crescendo.

Callinan resorts to more conventional territory on Victoria M and the main body of Chardonnay Sean which carry all the wistful swagger of Morrissey. These are full bodied songs, where Callinan has muted his brutish concepts of misguided masculinity and built them into melody rather than sheer ‘voice’. It might not fit with the progressive nature of Callinan’s intentions, but in many ways the album succeeds when it tries to do less. His clear ambition and scope is impressive but its divisiveness can be its own worst enemy. Listening to tracks like the aforementioned Embracism and Stretch It Out, it’s easy to spend more time thinking about the unconventional nature of the song, rather than the song itself.

Make no mistake, the power on this album is palpable and Callinan shows he has some serious muscles to flex. Chris Taylor’s production recreates much of the sonic atmosphere explored on his solo effort as CANT. Yet for Callinan, the moments of rest and reflection found in Chardonnay Sean and Landslide indicate a much more attractive prospect, a fresh voice for the disillusioned, a suffering soul for the millennial generation. When he allows himself the time to breathe and dance with his melodies a little more, the results are stunning.

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Words: Angus Harrison