This is a band that sounds like four people who have been doing this for decades and know exactly what they want. Bleak Squad's Strange Love is noirish art-rock with a loose, lived-in feel. Mick Turner's guitar lines drift and cut like they do on a Dirty Three record, while Mick Harvey's rhythm section work carries the weight of all those Bad Seeds and Birthday Party years. Adalita from Magic Dirt brings a raw, commanding vocal presence, and Marty Brown from Art of Fighting ties it together with bass that feels almost like a second lead instrument.
The album moves between tense, driving songs like World Go To Hell and the more open, almost fragile Blue Signs. There is a darkness here, but it is not heavy. It is the kind of dark that comes from experience, not affectation. The band name Bleak Squad fits: this is a loose collection of misfits making music that feels late-night and slightly dangerous.
If you love the ragged edges of Australian post-punk and the emotional weight of Dirty Three or Magic Dirt, this is worth your time. It is not a supergroup in the embarrassing sense. It is something better than that.
