Australia’s Lost Animal is a long-limbed master of cool seemingly beamed in from a dimension where keyboards, not guitars, are the preferred armament of the large-coiffed and leather-coated. The Melbourne man born Jarrod Quarrell drops his LP debut, Ex Tropical, on Hardly Art January 29, but his first single and its seasonally appropriate video arrive today. In “Say No to Thugs,” Lost Animal is sent on an ugly errand that takes a bizarre twist when his once-murdered bassist, Shags Chamberlain, comes back to life for a literally wicked solo. The presence of zombie rockers can’t help but bring to mind Screaming Females’ “Leave it All Up to Me,” but this Jason Heller-directed clip emphasizes quiet danger over gory camp. The song itself is likewise surprisingly subtle despite its strangeness.
Lost Animal’s Ex Tropical track list:
1. “(Intro) Beat Goes On”
2. “Say No to Thugs”
3. “Buai Raskol”
4. “Don’t Litter”
5. “Cold Cut Nature”
6. “Ex Tropical”
7. “Lose the Baby”
8. “Greylands”
9. “Old Lovers”
10. “Sundown”
