No Through Road
Too Much Or Not Enough
Unstable Ape/Stomp


Finally. Freakin' finally. No Through Road does have its detractors, mostly people who have been, well, a little irked by frontman Matt Banham's onstage hubris. The first time I saw the band was the opening slot of an Art Of Fighting show some time ago, when Banham hilariously (and prophetically) enthused, 'You don't know it yet, but we're the band you came to see.' For too long the power and the gratification of a No Through Road show has gone almost entirely without audio record. Last year's 'Lo-Fi Sandwich', exclusively a bedroom job, was full of great songs with intentionally poor execution. In contrast, 'Too Much Or Not Enough', twelve months in the making, is uniquely brilliant.

Sonically and lyrically, Banham fills the gaps between the folk acoustica of Bright Eyes (minus the electronics), the curious ditties of Smog and the big rock framework of Weezer. He mumbles mournfully and he screams somewhere only just short of 'in tune'. And he does it better than you can imagine. Lo-fi musings such as Naked With You and The Last Time I Touch You compete amiably with the histrionics of My Broken Brother, Die For Something and Sucked In Matt. His band, the Adelaide collective of Banham, Crase, Datson, Kobyiecki and Ware, make a racket which, while not entirely captured on this album, is entirely satisfying. And his acoustic meanderings (cf. the amazing The Chelsea Theatre), where the tuneful longing of his voice takes full flight, are masterful in their hope and sorrow.

Sure, you might be slightly disgruntled when Banham asserts that he is one of the best songwriters in the country. Listen to this, then try to argue with him.

Ben Revi