Week 21 of an album a week for a year
Surprise Chef - Superb
Hello everyone. This week I was really excited to check out a new album called Superb by Surprise Chef.
Surprise Chef are a fantastic Australian band who, for the past 5 years, have been quietly growing their fan base, to the point where I don't know if you could still call their music underground. They have a world tour coming up to promote this album, they were recently the feature album on Double J, and their music was resampled on a collaboration featuring Ghostface Killah, Rich Brian & Smino. Their music is instantly recognisable and incredibly catchy.
That being said, if you haven't heard of them before, allow me to introduce you to Surprise Chef. They are a band from Coburg, Melbourne, who make instrumental funk/soul music, and feature distinctly Australian/Melbourne references in their song titles. Using old school instruments and analog/reel to reel recording techniques, this music sounds like it came straight out of the 70's. A few of them live together at the College of Knowledge (which is both their home studio and indie label and gives you an idea of where the album artwork came from) and their instagram page is great to see behind the scenes footage as they repair broken gear, try interesting recording experiments, and often features their cat, Baby Huey (who has a song named after him on an older album that is absolutely banging). There's various side projects if you find you want to dive into more of this sound, and they are beloved by the community radio scene in Melbourne.
Enough background though. Let's get into the music.
Sleep Dreams starts the album off with a nice gentle synth/flute melody while a guitar strums some chords. About a minute in, the bass and drums kick in, and with that rhythm section, comes the sound of Surprise Chef. I love it. The sounds of the melodies swirling around and around with the bass and drums holding everything together like glue, it's magic.
Bully Ball kicks you in the face with the drum tone. It's thick, you can really feel that bass kick through a good set of speakers (or even some average ones with a sub truth be told!) and it's an interesting beat. A catchy piano melody nestled inside a warm cocoon of bass and wah wah'd guitar, with a twinkling of glockenspiel floating over the top makes up most of the song, but there's a really fat, squelchy synth line in the middle.
Body Slam starts off gently, breaking down to just synth, drums and glockenspiel, with a side of tension. But as the song progresses it brings in electronic weirdness and synths, catching you in a comfortable embrace amidst the chaos.
Consulate Case makes you want to move from the opening note. With a synth leading for most of the song, the guitar, drums, and bass come together to create a fantastic groove that holds everything down. It's even got a nice little breakdown near the middle.
Dangerous has a bass line that just grabs you, and everything builds off this. The drums sit unobtrusively in the back, creating a tight pocket that slowly introduces all the lovely melodies around it and gives everything a chance to breathe. Near the end there's a nice, ugly synth line that switches things up.
Websites this song, as we are told from the start, is dedicated to 'all my favourite websites'. I don't know what they are, but I'm really curious. Curiosity is a good way to sum up the sound on this one too, the bass sounds like it's exploring, and joining it in it's exploration of the unknown is the guitar. The synths and subtle live drums sit in the back, but most of the drums are done with a drum machine. It's more down tempo than some of the other songs on this album but it still sits quite nicely in the mix of songs.
Fare Evader has maybe the best drum sound on the album. There's a hip hop influence that grabs me instantly, and the drums sound huge. I love it. There's glitchy electronic weirdness driving a lot of this song, and some piano that catches the ear, but the drums really shine on this one. The reference in the name is for people who ride the local trams for free.
Tag Dag is upbeat and has a tight feel to it. There are a lot of different synth and keys used throughout this song, and as a whole it sounds really cohesive. There's no one instrument driving this song, everything is working together. Near the end there's a bit of a breakdown and everything is slowly re-introduced. The name Tag Dag is in reference to when you put on a T-shirt and the tag is sticking up at the back.
Plumb Tuckered might be one of my favourite songs on the album. This is one I found myself humming at work a lot. It's upbeat and a bit more aggressive than a lot of the other songs, but this is still Surprise Chef; it's not crazy aggressive, just a bit harder and less laid back. The drums are really pushing, driving the other instruments to hit your ears harder. Plumb Tuckered (aka tuckered out) means when you're tired and knackered.
Dreamers Disease is a gentle waltz, with layers of glockenspiel and piano. The drums and bass sit right back and let the other instruments shine. There's a percussion breakdown which is pretty interesting, before the dreamy glockenspiel comes back in.
Slippery Dip might be my favourite song, it's another one that got stuck in my head and I found myself humming it throughout the week. It's upbeat from the start but also easy to listen to, each instrument drifts in and out around the rhythm. Things kick up a notch around 2 minutes in, with some interesting dynamics and melodies you want to sing. There's a really sunny, feel-good atmosphere here. The real magic however is at the end. The last 2 minutes of this song are total bliss. Every instrument sounds sparse but beautiful and it creates a vibe I just want to soak into.
All in all, I loved this album and give it 5 fingers out of 5. There isn't a song on here I don't like. A lot of Surprise Chef's music is great background music, you put them on when you've got friends round and you're chatting and it creates a vibe. I think this album might have a few ear worms and moments that will stop conversation and have people listening to the music rather than each other.
If you liked this music check out their tour dates as they may be playing in your city in the next couple of months. I don't know if they have played in the US and Europe before, but I'd highly recommend checking them out live. It's a vibe.
The year so far: