REVIEW: The Veronicas release stunning new album 'Godzilla'
Today Australian music icons The Veronicas release their first new album in almost seven years, Godzilla. The album is the first of two albums they will release this year, with the companion Human due to follow in July.
Each album follows a general theme, with Human showcasing the duo’s more vulnerable side while Godzilla embraces their at times infamous public alter egos.
Nothing perhaps embraces the album’s theme better then the opening title track ‘Godzilla’. A brash, audacious hard rock-punk track, it is both a throw back to The Veronicas earlier guitar indiepop vibes but also a statement on the love-hate and often co-dependent relationship pop stars have with the public: ‘Runnin' circles in your cage / You control me like a slave / I’m the one you love to hate’. Jessica and Lisa Origliasso know exactly who you think they are, but they are also determined to throw that expectation back in your face.
‘Godzilla’ opens the album with a roar, but it is not indicative of the sonic landscape the album traverses. The following eleven tracks flirt with a number of different genres, and while ‘Godzilla’ brings to mind the best of the early 1980s punk sound, the focus on many of the tracks is on the opposite end of that decades music scene with deliciously authentic 80s synth-electro-pop prevailing. ‘High Score’ has a classic synthpop sound with lyrics to match, looking back on the joys of youth when the most important thing was meeting friends at the video arcade: ‘When did things get so complicated?…I wish we could go back to the days when you would meet me at the arcade…playing video games’ they sing. ‘Stealing Cars’ follows a similar path with a bassline straight from the Countdown set and lyrics wistfully looking at a life that may not have lived up to expectations but is made worthwhile by the person you are with - ‘broken dreams that litter the sidewalk…wasting time, but wasting my time with you’. ‘Supernatural Girl’ is a moody, nighttime drive track which could easily soundtrack a 1980s John Hughes teen movie, while ‘In It To Win It’ is a pumping R&B tinged track back with bursts of synth, vocodered vocals and a hypnotic, chanty chorus.
Seven tracks in has you thinking Godzilla is quite possibly the best thing The Veronicas have ever done, but it really hits its stride with a collection of incredibly strong tracks towards the back end of the album. ‘101’ is arguably the standout of the whole collection, a pulsing, electro dance track with some of the most sublime melodies in pop this year on the chorus with heartfelt, and heartbreaking, lyrics. On first impression, they come across as an ode to devoted love, lifetime partners: ’Say we’re going to stick together through it all and live til we’re 101 / And die in each other’s arms…we know love is hard to find’ before the twist in the story cuts deep: ‘Say you’re coming back for me / That you made a mistake and I’m the only one / And she doesn’t turn you on.” Melancholy and utter despair set to a dance ready beat, it is a magnificently created song and must surely rank as one of their best.
The following track ‘Catch Fire’ is just as powerful. It tells a happier story of devoted love - ‘if you catch fire I’ll burn with you’ - and manages to be both stripped back and atmospherically dramatic, with a western guitar twang and a soaring build to a string section at the end of the song. ‘Silent’ (featuring Blink-182’s Travis Barker) revisits broken love - ‘Did you ever feel anything? / Cause my heart is black / And I still want you back’ - and features elements of world music, glorious strings and raw, impassioned vocals which anyone who has experienced love being ripped away can instantly connect with.
The Veronicas have been responsible for some of the most iconic moments in Australian pop over the last 15 years - one of them, their 2016 number 1 single ‘In My Blood’ is included on the album - and Godzilla is a reminder of just how good they are. Packed with every ingredient that makes pop music so special - gorgeous melodies, lyrics that connect, stunning vocals - The Veronicas have quite possibly released one of the best albums of 2021. With an album of this calibre, the prospects for second album Human are high and while it may have taken them seven years, The Veronicas’ full-length return has been worth every second.
Godzilla is out now via Sony Music Australia. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things The Veronicas, you can follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
TOUR DATES
June 3 - Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
June 4 - Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
June 5 - Kings Theatre, Sunshine Coast
June 6 - Twin Towns, Tweed Heads
June 12 - HBF Stadium, Perth
June 13 - Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
June 15 - Canberra Theatre, Canberra
June 16 - Civic Theatre, Newcastle
June 18 - Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
June 19 - WIN Entertainment, Wollongong
June 26 - The Forum, Melbourne
June 27 - The Forum, Melbourne
June 28 - The Forum, Melbourne
For more ticket information go to theveronicas.com & livenation.com.au
