After touring from continent to continent off the back of their killer 2012 debut,In A Million Years,Brisbane’s Last Dinosaurs have offered up a ten-song-long follow-up,Wellness.
With a theme of self-reflection threading (perhaps too neatly) through each track, Wellness sees Last Dinosaurs expand their sound and show they aren’t afraid to play with new things.
Fresh techniques like samples are effectively mastered and add context and depth to the eerie, smoky title track. The beginning of ‘Apollo’ sounds like it’s been sampled from a fashion runway; applause, general chatter, and then bright, attention-grabbing synths spin the listener into one spectacular dance tune.
One thing that hasn’t changed in the three years between releases is the Magic Mountain vibe (see the excellent psychedelic ’90s kids TV show) that can’t help but radiate from Last Dinosaurs’ music. There are twirling, danceable synths, buzzing head-in-the-clouds guitars, finely executed riffs and the most niggling of ear-worm melodies.
After a three-year gap between albums, impossibly intricate and simply solid guitar work is still undeniably at the front of how Last Dinosaurs operate.
Wellness byLast Dinosaursis out now through Dew Process/Universal.
