Spiderbait
Tonight Alright

(Interscope)

First Appeared in The Music Box, October 2004, Volume 11, #10

Written by Brad Podray

With the exception of an excellent cover of Leadbelly’s Black Betty, Spiderbait’s Tonight Alright is an inauspicious outing that fuses hard rock with a punk aesthetic. Sure, the sonic energy that the Australian three-piece throws at the listener is interesting, and its alternating mix of male and female vocals keeps the collection from becoming tiresome. While the group’s musicianship is competent, however, none of its songs are very memorable. Indeed, if innovation was measured on scale of automobile quality, Spiderbait would be a Geo Metro; it gets the driver to his destination, but not exactly in the lap of luxury.

At a mere 36 minutes in length, Tonight Alright is short, even by punk rock standards, but its three-chord alternations are entirely predictable. Even worse, Spiderbait simply lacks the originality to make its songs succeed. Still, there’s that aforementioned incredible version of Black Betty, which is strong enough to rival Ram Jam’s well-known rendition, and for that reason alone, Tonight Alright deserves some attention.

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Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2004 The Music Box