Total Control may be from Australia, but the post-punk posse are capable of an almost Nordic sense of pacing and breadth. While other outpourings from the Melbourne band have ranged from fast-paced hardcore to fuzzed-out minimal techno, the song “Sweaty” is as grand as a glacier, beginning with a pensive swarm of humming guitar notes as main man Dan Stewart drawls out cryptic poetry about hunger, souls, and crank. We believe him when he claims the latter “ain’t in [his] veins” — this is a slowly moving masterpiece that soon turns into a grinding squall of wasteland ambience. Though the video above offers a series of disconnected clips, it well captures the song’s bleak feel. “Sweaty” appears on Total Control’s 2012 split with Thee Oh Sees — the former’s half of the thing is streaming on Bandcamp, and it’s worth your time. The Oz destroyers come to the U.S. in May.
Total Control 2013 tour dates:
May 22 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
May 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ 285 Kent ^
May 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s %
May 25 – Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat %
May 26 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter %
May 27 – Atlanta, GA @ 529 %
May 28 – Memphis, TN @ Murphy’s %
May 29 – Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves %
May 30 – Austin, TX @ Chaos In Tejas
May 31 – Austin, TX @ Chaos In Tejas
June 1 – Austin, TX @ Chaos In Tejas
June 2 – Austin, TX @ Chaos In Tejas
June 4 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rhythm Room #
June 5 – Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction #
June 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex #*
June 7 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Atrium #*
June 8 – San Francisco, CA @ The Eagle !
^ – w/ Crazy Spirit and Raspberry Bulbs
% – w/ UV Race
# – w/ Ceremony
* – w/ Soft Moon
! – w/ Thee Oh Sees
