Tommy Rutland – “The Iconography Of Your Youth”

For well over a decade now Adelaidian Tommy Rutland has served as the animated frontman for Dangerous! and Wendy Icon.

The Iconography Of Your Youth sees the multi instrumentalist step out in solo mode, a move that has resulted in an ear catching melting pot of sounds. Over a consistantly underlying current of eighties beats and riffs, there is a sonic smorgasboard of punk, industrial, hip hop and metal to be feasted upon.

Despite it’s candid and crude title, opener ‘Don’t Be A C^%#!‘ is a rather catchy pop song. The subtly deposited samples of giggling children are an amusing choice, slotting in neatly next to repeated usage of the Cunt word.

https://soundcloud.com/tommyrutland/2-dont-be-a

Continuing in a poppy vein, ‘This Is How I Feel‘ reels you in with it’s danceability whilst also managing to unsettle with Rutland‘s tortured screams. Catchy yet disturbing, it’s a fine example of the seemingly contrasting influences that rub shoulders throughout the record. On the topic of disturbing, ‘I Want Your Blood‘ (“I’m a serial killer with a microphone”) is where things truly ramp up. There is something a little bi-polar about the fluent switches from the melodic to the barking Rage Against The Machine style raps here.

A deceptive tender piano leads into the aggression of ‘Death Metal‘, the raise in intensity continuing into ‘Poison‘. After this flurry it is time for the record’s most timid moment. ‘Suck My Soul‘ unveils a soulful falsetto vocal but still manages to disturb with the calmly expressed “I could have killed you that night”. Based more or less around a repetitive vocal and riff, ‘Bang Your Head‘ does indeed stay lodged in your head. The line “let the rain come down and wash away all the bullshit here today” is as catchy as it is relatable and again brings Rutland‘s poppier side to the forefront.

The Iconography Of Your Youth is an album that suprises and rewards. Tommy Rutland has managed to incorporate a myriad of styles into an edgy yet accessable collection of songs. His several musical personalities all find a home here within the confines of this moody thirty four minute record.

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Gavin Stocker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Outside of Across The Ocean Gavin Stocker writes, records and performs music under the moniker of P Truck.

He can also be found clinging to his youth on a skateboard or wandering aimlessly through the bush.