I'm Terry

by 
AlbumAug 31 / 201810 songs, 29m 24s70%
Indie Pop

Some words from DX I’m Terry. Oh, you know me! There are two kinds of people in this world: not Terry, and Terry. I’m Terry. On HQ I sung about home and place. Terry does not endorse nationalism. On Remember, I sung about who gets to remember, what they get to remember, what memories are valued, what we need to learn to forget. Republic now please. :) AND NOW – I’m Terry. I’m Terry. They are Terry. Three LPs in three years that continue to fulfil their promise of their first 7”s: one moment a witty “art” punk Wire scramble, the next moment a dumb “pub” punk oi stomper, the next a beautifully orchestrated shimmering soundscape of rudimentary melodies cascading over one another; the point being these are disparate but always succinct songs soaked in melodies, vocal harmonies that sing-song verses and terrace chant choruses, all peppered with flourishes of synths, horns and violins. They perfected this almost immediately, and each record is a masterful fulfillment, and so… I’m Terry. There are so few bands attempting lyrics along these lines, so it’s worth to point toward them, as this is Terry: please be kind. We are spared the righteous indignation of identity politicians, but the empathy here for those under the boot of the colony, of the fortress, of the rich and privileged, and the disappointment and disgust at the effects of what we are calling toxic masculinity informs their more aggressive lambast, and this is delivered in an overt lyricism that doesn’t disintegrate into preach or self loathing lamentation. There’s an unbridled joy in Terry at the experience of making songs in times they are clearly contrary to, the empathy and the pleas for kindness and all that… I’m Terry is an expression of a humbling kindness, and 2018 needs more Terry! And now, here I am, I’m Terry. As you become culturally introverted, atomized and reduced to your best versions of your selves / selfies, I move from place to memory, now I move to the very marrow of things. The I. The ME. I’M TERRY. I’m Terry.

7

7.3 / 10

The Australian quartet both epitomizes and transcends the indie-pop aesthetic on an album that balances lighthearted wordplay with serious political commentary.

If TERRY's first album seemed like a holiday for members of Dick Diver, Eastlink, Constant Mongrel, and Mick Harvey's band, by the time of their third album they are well established and a reliable source of fun-and-furious guitar pop.

With I'm Terry, Melbourne four-piece Terry display the sheer prowess of their pop sensibilities and punk aesthetic.

8 / 10

RIPPER! Melbourne’s TERRY return to complete a hat trick of three albums in three years (TERRYilogy?) that leaves the piss streak that is the rest