How do you interpret the name Tropical Fuck Storm? For me it's the sound of a tornado tearing through a bordello, but for the Australian four-piece who actually bear the moniker it's clearly something different – something like an electrical storm in slow motion crackling around a (presumably tropical?) drug lab. Smoke swirls, chemicals which should never mix combine together and paranoia sets in.
Deep States is an altogether more claustrophobic affair than the band's previous two albums and is objectively less fun to listen to. The group have always had that slightly freeform acidy quality to their songs, but Deep States flirts with the Bad Place where the music starts to fold in on itself into something which is probably colossal and visceral for those making it but very hard to penetrate for us on the outside. If you're on the TFS wavelength then I genuinely envy you because there must be something in there but trying to connect with it is a bit like catching bubbles with a fishing net.
'Blue Beam Baby' is a prime example – it's clearly expertly crafted, with precise instrumentation fitting neatly around the vocals in a calculated shove of the envelope, but it really depends on your cognitive function at the moment you hit play as to whether it fascinates or alienates. Much less clever are the harsh Death Grips-esque clipping sounds on 'Suburbiopia' which is not an easy listen at all, although when reigned in on the beguiling 'Legal Ghost' they are suitably atmospheric.
'Reporting of a Failed Campaign' is a welcome relief, an anarchic piece of lyrical and musical storytelling, but when all is said and done the record's best moments are at the start; opener 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' offers a glimpse of lush chords before giving way to a hedonistic embrace of dissonance, and the groove in the bassline to 'G.A.F.F.' speaks for itself.
Twisted, languid and unpredictable, the third album from the Australian four-piece with the memorable name is unquestionably difficult – probably more difficult than your average listener would want, but doubtless rewarding if you try hard enough.
Words - Joe Ponting
TFS officials