“Hope Downs”  is a force of a debut album by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever that delivers just over 35 minutes of a thrilling adventure.

“Hope Downs,’ released in 2018, is the first full length album from Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and every minute of it is full of action packed goodness. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever (or RBCF for short) are from Melbourne, Australia and get their sound from the band’s unique three alternating singer-guitarists. Fran Keaney, Tom Russo, and Joe White turn this band into something very special with a combination of exploratory lyrics and infectious guitar jamming. The band describes their sound as “tough pop/ soft punk,” but I see it as a more streamlined version of something that would have been played in a ‘90s college radio station. It’s a sound that embraces you into its arms, but also throws you around violently until you are suddenly embraced once again and addicted to the feeling.

 ”Hope Downs” is the perfect full-length follow up to the band’s equally as lively first two EP’s – “The French Press” and “Talk Tight.” It is a ten song, 35-minute glorious record that feels unlike anything you’ve heard before, but also like your favorite past album you couldn’t get enough of. This is in part because of just how catchy every single song on “Hope Downs” is and how the melodic rhythms of the guitar are used to carry you from song to song. The minute you press play on this album, it doesn’t let up until it ends. I compare “Hope Downs” to a river full of jolting vocal turns and explosive guitar rapids that eventually propels you into an ocean of confusion – the confusion being, why haven’t I heard of this band before?

The album kicks things off with “An Air Conditioned Man” which brings listeners a burst of dueling guitar action and a transition into descriptive story-telling lyrics. The song winds between the guitar melody you begin to crave and the lyrics you yearn to memorize. Everything between the first song and the album’s last song, “The Hammer” is not to be missed. Songs like “Talking Straight” and “Sister’s Jeans” are a constant buildup of energy that is released just when you can’t take it anymore. “Cappuccino City” and “Bellarine” bring a sense of intimacy to this otherwise hard lined group of songs and they are placed perfectly in the album’s lineup for setting its tone. ‘Hope Downs’ commences with “The Hammer.” This song is my favorite off of the album, because it builds in intensity and urgency until ending with a guitar solo to close the album off in perfect fashion.

I hope the world takes notice as Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever continue to gain traction through the release of spot-on work and original songwriting. There is no doubt that RBCF has more tricks up their sleeve with their coming work, and I for one cannot wait to see what those tricks might be.

9.3/10
“Hope Downs”  is a force of a debut album by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever that
delivers just over 35 minutes of a thrilling adventure.
 
“Hope Downs,’ released in 2018, is the first full length album from Rolling Blackouts
Coastal Fever and every minute of it is full of action packed goodness. Rolling
Blackouts Coastal Fever (or RBCF for short) are from Melbourne, Australia and get their
sound from the band’s unique three alternating singer-guitarists. Fran Keaney, Tom
Russo, and Joe White turn this band into something very special with a combination of
exploratory lyrics and infectious guitar jamming. The band describes their sound as
“tough pop/ soft punk,” but I see it as a more streamlined version of something that
would have been played in a ‘90s college radio station. It’s a sound that embraces you
into its arms, but also throws you around violently until you are suddenly embraced once
again and addicted to the feeling.
 
“Hope Downs” is the perfect full-length follow up to the band’s equally as lively first two
EP’s – “The French Press” and “Talk Tight.” It is a ten song, 35-minute glorious record
that feels unlike anything you’ve heard before, but also like your favorite past album you
couldn’t get enough of. This is in part because of just how catchy every single song on
“Hope Downs” is and how the melodic rhythms of the guitar are used to carry you from
song to song. The minute you press play on this album, it doesn’t let up until it ends. I
compare “Hope Downs” to a river full of jolting vocal turns and explosive guitar rapids
that eventually propels you into an ocean of confusion – the confusion being, why
haven’t I heard of this band before?
 
The album kicks things off with “An Air Conditioned Man” which brings listeners a burst
of dueling guitar action and a transition into descriptive story-telling lyrics. The song
winds between the guitar melody you begin to crave and the lyrics you yearn to
memorize. Everything between the first song and the album’s last song, “The Hammer”
is not to be missed. Songs like “Talking Straight” and “Sister’s Jeans” are a constant
buildup of energy that is released just when you can’t take it anymore. “Cappuccino
City” and “Bellarine” bring a sense of intimacy to this otherwise hard lined group of
songs and they are placed perfectly in the album’s lineup for setting its tone. ‘Hope
Downs’ commences with “The Hammer.” This song is my favorite off of the album,
because it builds in intensity and urgency until ending with a guitar solo to close the
album off in perfect fashion.
 
I hope the world takes notice as Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever continue to gain
traction through the release of spot-on work and original songwriting. There is no doubt
that RBCF has more tricks up their sleeve with their coming work, and I for one cannot
wait to see what those tricks might be.
9.3/10