Clowns Endless

Melbourne punk band Clowns have expanded their sound far beyond the poppy bursts of hardcore of their 2013 debut I’m Not Right. Still, the band’s fifth album represents an even bigger swing than expected, plunging full-throttle through punk, psych, hard rock, metal and more. ENDLESS connects those musical threads with the unifying theme of immortality, but even that central prompt sends Clowns into far-flung directions. After “FORMALDEHYDE” celebrates shrugging off mortality amidst the chaos of youth, “SCARED TO DIE” admits to using the fleeting joy of sex to distract from the fear of death. The album only gets more over-the-top from there, with bassist Hanny Tilbrook singing lead on the distortion-scarred “THANKS 4 NOTHING” and vocalist Stevie Williams exaggerating his libido to encompass anyone in sight on “BISEXUAL AWAKENING”. The pair’s dual vocals pack a dynamic punch throughout the record, breaking into a scalding scream at a moment’s notice. Other highlights include “I GOT A KNIFE 🔪🔪🔪”—a characteristically cheeky collab with Swedish band The Baboon Show—and the closing “A WIDOW’S SON”, an extended story-song about Australian bushranger Ned Kelly that mingles true-crime narration, dramatic metal riffing and spaghetti western and synth flourishes.