Total Control - Typical System (Iron Lung, 2014)

Total Control
Typical System
Iron Lung
2014

Rating: 7.5 sassy dogs out of 10

I'm trying to think of a smart or witty way to say this Total Control record "Typical System" sounds pretty much exactly like an early Gary Numan record, but I can't find my way around it.  Bear in mind this is definitely not a complaint - I've actually been listening to a fair amount of Numan lately, and this slides nicely into a playlist with him.  The vocals are a little more laid back/less paranoid sounding than Numan, but I'd be hard pressed to find many more differences than that.  I actually thought the second song "Expensive Dog" was a Tubeway Army cover at first, and don't get me started with the following song "Flesh War" - I'm pretty sure that synth line is directly lifted from Numan. 

Let me really reiterate that I don't give a shit, not even a little one, that these songs sound just like Gary Numan.  Catchy songs are catchy songs, and I plan on listening to these quite a bit...can't say that I give a good goddamn if it's a rip-off of someone else or not. 

Total Control - Henge Beat (Iron Lung, 2011)

Total Control

Henge Beat

Iron Lung

2011

Rating: 7.5 hammer bibs out of 10

Even without knowing they are from Australia (which I did know before listening) and share a member (which I did not know before listening), your first reaction is going to be to compare Total Control to Eddy Current Suppression Ring.  Which is fine because ECSR totally fucking rule.  Honestly, based on the band's name I was expecting a hardcore album, but that doesn't really matter.  Yes, this smells strongly of ECSR and probably A-Frames, it's sort of post-punk with gothy new wave tinges, a description that sounds eactly like the best work of Suicide and yeah you could throw that comparison in there too.  These songs are a lot catchier than most anything Suicide released though.  Anyways, the point of this short meandering review is to say that Australia is killing it lately and you should probably jump on the bandwagon now before it gets too full.  This is a great record.