Donkey Vote are a 4 piece punk band from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The band is relatively new having formed in 2018. The band released their debut EP ‘Home & Hosed’ in December that year. This release was the first thing I reviewed for Crannk way back on the 15th of January 2019 and earned me my spot on the Crannk team. Here’s the link. .. http://www.crannk.com/tag/donkey-vote/
Now here we are at the end of 2019 and I’m reviewing the band’s debut album ‘People Eating Tasty Animals‘ which was released in November. From what I can remember there wasn’t a big lead up to this album. The band released a single from the album called ‘Never Live It Down’ on the 9th of November 2019 and within about a week the band was posting album artwork and links to streaming services.
The track ‘Never Live It Down‘ [2:29] was a good sign the band still wrote similar music to the stuff on 2018’s ‘Home & Hosed‘ which I really liked. The guitar parts were a mixture of riffs and distorted power chords with palm muting and pick slides sprinkled about for good measure.
The song ‘If You’re Not Heading North, You’re Heading Nowhere‘ [3:15] has an intro that showcases the way the guitarist mixes riffs and power chords to create the recognizable Donkey Vote sound. The song ‘Shots‘ [2:37] has some amazing riffage maybe the best on the album.
The song ‘Be With You‘ [1:57] is the shortest song on the album but its really well-written vocal hook in the chorus is fast repetitive and catchy, it will get you singing along in no time.
The song ‘All for You‘ [2:43] at times feels like a personal reflection of the bedroom vs the stage with a dash of doubt, must be stage fright but then the chorus tries hard to engage the listener. The song has a great guitar intro and even some Oi! bits as well as the usual distorted power chords with some palm muting.
The songwriting on songs like ‘Cheap Thrills‘ [2:24] and ‘Megan the vegan‘ [3:03] is some of the band’s best work both lyrically and musically. The hard conversation about eating animals mixed with lines about stereotypical hippy stuff like no showers and flower necklaces. Soundscapes of distorted power chords and guitar riffing mixed with pick slides. Shouty style backup vocals and whoa bits.
Every instrument gets its turn in the spotlight like the cool bass intro in ‘Rollercoaster‘ [2:33] and the drum intro in ‘Comin’ Home‘ [2:42]. The song ‘Comin’ Home’ is a great example of the band’s ability to add something extra to their formula. It has got a great drum intro, the usual guitar stuff and a familiar song structure. If you listen closely in the bridge part you can hear sample noises of a horse doing a gallop and neigh as well as a whip.
Donkey Vote [2:04] … yes, the band wrote a song and named it after themselves but its actually a great song.
In summary, if you liked the Donkey Vote EP ‘Home & Hosed’ this is a lot like that but more polished. If your new to this band the album is, in my opinion, the band’s best work to date. You can get a physical copy of the album by contacting the band via facebook
Donkey Vote are Alex Walker – vocals / James Baker – guitar / Brody Harrison – bass / James Braszell – drums
Donkey Vote Links
Facebook Link:https://www.facebook.com/DonkeyVotePunkRock/
Apple Music Link:https://music.apple.com/au/album/people-eating-tasty-animals/1488811877
Google Music Link: https://play.google.com/store/music/album?id=Buxv2mjhabyfhnbtytxizo2ssoq
Triple J Unearthed Link: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/donkey-vote
Youtube Link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvOBetW3N-W-24Mh4TF0KrQ
