You can’t accuse this of not starting as it means to go on.
There’s a crescendo here that says denim-clad, hairy blokes with a 70s obsession, and even when “Woman Like You” settles into its verses, that is still very much the case.
Halfway through it, though, Mathias Northway gets to the nub of the thing. “Oh, I’m in love with the blues,” he sings, and that, really, is Child all over. Big, thick grooves. A lead guitar sound that is just about perfect. A band that understands that sometimes the best thing you can do is plug in, turn up, and trust the riff.
The good news is that if you like that, there are five more where it came from.
Child are a three-piece from Melbourne, and you can forget the clichés, frankly, because this ain’t here to shake you all night long. It might just stick around for breakfast instead.
“Forgot How To Love” is perfectly happy with its lot. You could imagine it coming from the same kind of swampy hinterland as “Wiseblood”-era Corrosion Of Conformity, and if this is blues, then it is not the Robert Johnson kind. This is heavier, dirtier, thicker. The textures and melodies are magnificent, and the fact Child can meander and wander wherever they damn well want, while still sounding cohesive, is a trick that plenty of bands never learn.
“Heavy Loud” might be bracketed as southern rock in certain circles, but really it just sounds timeless. It is one of those songs where you find yourself reaching for the sleeve notes to check whether it is a cover, so immediate is its pull. It feels like it has always existed somewhere, waiting for Child to dig it out of the earth.
If you like riffs, they have got you sorted too. “Damned Heart (Last Chance)” is built on one that does exactly what it needs to do, and a word here for Northway, who was surely born to sing in a band like this. His voice has that weathered, lived-in quality that makes every line sound like it has been earned rather than written.
The acoustics come out at the start of “I Tried (Newy),” and the whole thing has the flavour of a Thunder song from one of their mid-period records. That is a compliment, obviously. It has the same sense of craft, the same understanding that you can ease off without losing weight, and that melody can be every bit as powerful as volume.
“Cold Shoulder (Dead)” knows it is heartless and sounds positively gleeful after telling her she has lost “the best thing you ever had.” Better still, it changes gear with the confidence of a band that knows exactly what it is doing. There is no need to overcomplicate any of this when the foundations are this strong.
There is nothing groundbreaking here, but to criticise it for that would be to miss the point entirely. Instead, “Rebirth” is more proof that there are few better things in music than a three-piece band getting it right.
Child do that here. Again and again.
The “Rebirth” of a new favourite child.
Rating 9/10
