The Thousands

Following up the drug-addled Acid Trip / Speed Freak 7″, UV Race’s HOMO (their second LP and sixth studio release) is for the most part a surprisingly tender affair. As the title suggests, there is a real sense of humanity in these tunes, with love and longing (‘Girl In My Head’, ‘Down Your Street’) and despair and loss (‘Lost My Way’, ‘Low’) being the dominant themes, while, sonically, much of it is far more relaxed and acoustically biased than any of their earlier efforts.

Despite the sentimental thread, this is, after all, an album by the UV Race, which wouldn’t be complete without the skronking sax, VU guitar and four-on-the-floor drumming, not to mention singer Marcus Rechsteiner’s accounts and interpretations of daily life, which are, thankfully, highly prevalent on this corker. While every UV Race release is a winner in my books, HOMO really is the champion of the lot. With its controlled chaos, hook after hook and earnest and honest lyrics, it really hits home and hits home hard. File this one in between (I’m) Stranded and Liberty Belle & The Black Diamond Express as a bonafide-Aussie-classic.