Bringing together former and current members of The Diamond Sea, Schifosi, Circuits and Deep Heat, Infinite Void pound out catchy and buzzy punk rock that traces its sound back to the Minneapolis of the mid-’80s and Olympia of the ’90s. But from the driving 'Pay For What's It's Worth' to the dual female vocal harmonies of 'Give Up', the sound of Infinite Void is still definitely Melbourne 2012. It may help that both Jacquie and Alicia play together in another punk outfit Deep Heat, which also features Gus of Boomgates. The difference between the two bands lies in Infinite Void's doomier UK post-punk influence with some songs sounding like a punker version of the Cure's Pornography or the Jesus and Mary Chain's early material.

An urgency is meted out from opening track 'Creeping Symmetry' (which originally appeared on their 2010 demo) with Jacquie's vocals battling with an arpeggiated guitar line before heading straight into 'These Days', a song written the night before recording. Post haste. 'You'll never make it on your own,” she sings, and indeed the song – like the album – is a solid group effort. The use of three vocalists - drummer Scotti weighs in on vocals for 'The Weight' – keeps things ticking over and saves the 11 songs from getting mired down in “sameness” as often happens on many punk LPs. And, yes, this is vey much a punk record: the band take their name from a song by the sorely missed Melbourne hardcore band Schifosi and the cover illustration is by an artist called Snotrag.

Recorded live by Steven Smith of Melbourne band Scul Hazzards (who also helped create some of the noise (along with the guitars) for the song 'Still Waiting') this debut is another strong addition to quality Melbourne albums released already this year.

by Tim Scott