Puddinghead - Ball Park Music - Album Review

Ball Park Music have never disappointed me.

Not once.

I’ll admit, there were certain patches throughout their second full length LP ‘Museum’ that had me sceptical at first, but after further listening was done, I have come to appreciate that album as one of my favourite sophomore releases of any band to date.

So, it’s safe to say that with the band’s announcement of their third LP ‘Puddinghead’, I was a little more than excited. However, I was also nervous. Nervous that the band would somehow tarnish what I felt to be a fairly perfect track record. And you know what? The band have once more given me reason to place my faith within them. ‘Puddinghead’ is undeniably the band’s most experimental and mature record thus far, dealing with such themes as love, loss and most prominently, suburban living. You will be hard pressed to find two songs on this album that are particularly similar, mainly due to their vast experimentation into unchartered genres.

Unlike Ball Park’s first two records, (‘Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs’ and ‘Museum’) which seemed to flow from one poppy hit to the next, ‘Puddinghead’ instead relies on its much meatier subject matter and production. Not every song on the album has the ‘repeat factor’ that most Ball Park fans are accustomed to, but this only adds to the album as whole, with each piece adding to the metaphorical puzzle. (That was lame, I’m genuinely sorry for that.) Despite this lack in replay value, there are certainly a few standout tracks. The opening track, and first single to be released from the album, ‘She Only Loves Me When I’m There is a prime example of the positive aspects of the band’s change in direction. Unlike the opening tracks for ‘HaSS’ and ‘Museum’, ‘She Only Loves Me When I’m There’ begins gently, with the ambient synth-work corresponding in perfect unison with lead singer Sam Cromack’s soaring falsetto vocals.

Oh, and did I mention it has the catchiest mother flipping chorus I may have ever had the pleasure of listening to? ‘Next Life Already’ is also another one of my particular favourites. Catchy and upbeat – this song brings a beautifully warm sense of familiarity with it, with bassist and backing vocalist Jennifer Boyce singing in beautiful harmony to Cromack. The result is a warm and fuzzy feeling evoked from inside, much like when my mum gives me cuddles. * *True story.

However, my favourite track from the LP is most definitely the vibrant, catchy and wonderfully relevant ‘Everything Is Shit Except My Friendship With You’. A sense of hope and reassurance is provided in this track, even from the opening staccato guitar work. It is genuinely magical, trust me. For full effect of this song’s incredible lyricism and subject matter, I suggest you listen to it whilst neck deep in a hot bath with lots of candles.

Bliss, my friends. Simply bliss. ‘Puddinghead’ is by no means a perfect album, but it does a fairly good job at coming pretty damn close. With a maturity never seen before in Ball Park’s song writing, this is easily their most thought provoking release yet, and one I most definitely recommend you listen to.

FAVOURITE TRACKS: She Only Loves Me When I’m There, Next Life Already, Everything Is Shit Except My Friendship With You.

LEAST FAVOURITE TRACKS: NONE, REALLY.

8/10

Review by Jacob Sgouros

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