Hope Is For Hopers

Philadelphia Grand Jury’s debut long-player 'Hope Is For Hopers' features 12 tracks of perfectly crafted pop, writes A.H. CAYLEY.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.] Philadelphia Grand Jury, or the Philly Jays as they’re affectionately known, are one of the most exciting bands in Sydney right now. I say this with qualification simply because I have not heard every single Sydney band, though I like to think I've seen and heard a fairly sizeable cross-section, and they are certainly the most exciting I have had the joy to witness in recent times. With talk of their maniacally energetic live shows spreading across the scene and the country, their debut album Hope is for Hopers has been highly anticipated. And with good reason.

There is not a single track on this album that lets the whole thing down. No namby-pamby balladry shit. No extended, self-indulgent jams. These are brilliantly crafted pop songs from a fiercely talented rock band. Radio-length tunes that hit hard, hit quickly, and then fuck off once they're done. They stick in your head and trash the place. They're brilliant.

“These are brilliantly crafted pop songs from a fiercely talented rock band. Radio-length tunes that hit hard, hit quickly, and then fuck off once they're done.”

The fuzzy guitar intro of opener 'Ready To Roll' sets the scene for the album’s wild pace, with the furious drumming of now-departed Dan W. Sweat providing a heavy foundation for the seamless combination of singer/guitarist Berkfinger's melodies and MC Bad Genius' bass and electric piano lines throughout. They sure don't mess around. Current single 'The Good News' is a delightful modern ode detailing the cautious exhilaration of a long-distance lover's potential return, while 'Foot In My Mouth' takes a garage edge to proceedings. Radio favourite 'Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night)' is a hard rocking tune with a subdued sting in the tail, “Then it hits me/That no-one's in love with me.”

Production here is handled by Berkfinger, an engineer at Surry Hills' BigJesusBurger studios, who has worked on albums by a massive chunk of local artists including Richard In Your Mind, Belles Will Ring, Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers, The Maple Trail, Holly Throsby, Wolfmother and Sparkadia. Suffice to say, it's a very well produced record, which on first impressions didn’t seem like such a good thing. The appeal of the Philly Jays' live show lies in the chaos, the distortion, the dismantled stage, the smoke, the screams and the sweat. It would be impossible to ever recreate this and package it as a CD – and foolish to expect it – but there was some initial disappointment that someone outside of the band wasn’t at the helm.

Perhaps this is just another side to the Philly Jays; the perfectly crafted, slick and professionally produced pop album to counteract the crazed frenzy and willful damage of the live act. It's not at all bad, just different, and shows a diversity to Philadelphia Grand Jury's music and talent. A band without such depth could never have pulled it off.

Years after first immersing myself in music, never to return, I still find it amazing that something as straightforward as three men with instruments can evoke such joy. Someone please send them overseas now – Philadelphia Grand Jury could very well be one of our finest exports.

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Hope is for Hopers is out now on Boomtown.