Ausmuteants: Present the World in Handcuffs 12"

Ausmuteants: Present the World in Handcuffs 12"


Tags: · 10s · australia · garage · melodic · punk · spo-default · spo-disabled · synth-punk
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Anti-Fade
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It’s been quite some time since the world last heard from Ausmuteants, they’ve been busy with more important things in life but the band is back with their silliest output yet. Ausmuteants are proud to present The World In Handcuffs, out April 26th this year on Anti Fade Records.

 

Differing to previous Ausmuteants records, The World In Handcuffs was written (and narrated) entirely by guitarist Shaun Connor, as a concept album that explores a piss-take look on life from the perspective of a police officer.

 

“Shaun joined this band cause he's into punk for some dumb reason that I don't understand. They've gone on all sorts of time-consuming tours, and Shaun just comes back broke and useless. They're always playing these loud shows that make sure Shaun is taken away from me for the night. We were walking around in Berlin once on holiday after tour, when Shaun and I were meant to enjoy some quality vacation time together. Some dude hit him up like "Hey man, do you play in Ausmuteants?" which was so embarassing. Ugh. Shaun looked pleased with himself, the worm. I'm pretty sure their most popular song is about jacking off, which probably tells you all you need to know about these idiots.” 

 

– Dom, the love of Shaun’s life.

 

The record is split up into two sides that both include the exact same ten songs in different running orders – however, the A side features skits by Shaun in between songs and the B side doesn’t. So there’s a side for all occasions. 



Our take: For a while there you couldn’t walk into your local record store without tripping over a new Ausmuteants release, but the band has been quiet for the past couple of years. The World in Handcuffs breaks the silence, and I think it’ll please existing fans while also giving them something a little different. Ausmuteants is very much the same band playing the same jittery, confrontational synth-punk that gained them worldwide popularity, but this album feels a little more mature. The tempos are less manic, the songs more varied, and the big, melodic synth lines that used to be Ausmuteants’ calling card sit further back in the mix. Most interestingly, this is a concept record from a cop's perspective. The ten tracks on the album present a three-dimensional portrait, but it’s clear that the author is not a fan. Another noteworthy fact about this record is that the same music appears on both sides, albeit in a different running order and one side has skits and the other doesn’t. When I read this, I thought said skits would be long and/or annoying, but they aren’t. I prefer the side without the skits, but only because the running order seems to have a more natural ebb and flow to it. Even if you feel like you already have enough Ausmuteants records in your collection, I’d encourage you to check this out if you’re a fan, as it shows the band progressing without losing what you liked about them.