Cicadaclone. Alice in Clones. When it comes to Australia’s Cicadastone, the 1990s grunge-ripoff jokes seemingly write themselves. This tired, misbegotten genre sits a hair above country and mumble rap in our critical estimation, especially when the band in question venture beyond mere imitation to borderline theft. As if this weren’t enough, just this past January, they even toured with alt-geezers Candlebox.
But Alice in Chains‘ Jar of Flies remains this critic’s sole grunge guilty pleasure, and in true punchline fashion, Cicadastone gets the last laugh. Their third release is a gleeful, rip-roaring, endlessly entertaining beat-down of everything sensitive, squishy, or otherwise delicate in our homogenized society. Besides being one of 2024’s best rock albums thus far, Future Echoes is also breathtakingly consistent, maintaining its ferocious groove in a hailstorm of bashed drums, enraged guitar, and Layne Staley-worthy harmonies.
Yet Cicadastone aren’t sad or depressive; far from it. Brothers Mat and Mark Robins know where they want to go, and wow, do they get it done. Demonstrating a steady arc of maturity from their comparatively uncomplicated debut Chance Collide (2016) to their much-improved sophomore effort Cold Chamber (2020), Cicadastone avoid the modern “cookie-cutter” metal trap with complex progressions, ear-grabbing hooks, and layered, opium-den vocals. They also boast a flair for dark phrases like “Won’t hesitate to cut ties” (the soul-grinding “Skeleton Key”) or “Kick down these dominoes / All falling in a row / On borrowed time, you know” (Jar of Flies-style wailer “Burn Your Name”).
Like hair metal, bad grunge can often sound lugubrious, blasting the same four-time drumbeats and rote, moaning riffs as everybody else. Such tracks also have a habit of running together in a river of LP monotony. Future Echoes deftly avoids this pitfall, not using artsy-fartsy progressive rock gimmicks but via a dynamic rock vibe of undeviating focus. Similar to haiku poetry or Texas Hold’ Em poker – each respected for inherent structural limitations that demand deeper creativity – Cicadastone have set themselves some strict musical parameters yet somehow probe that defined space with exhilarating results. Their original drummer departed after Cold Chamber to be replaced by Mat Robins’ son Ethan, making them a true family band in Osmonds/Sylvers 1970s fashion. The broad, seismic percussion on Future Echoes rocks without respite, perhaps a nod to Ethan’s youthful energy.
Plugging individual tracks from this remarkably cohesive record presents a challenge. Opener “Cellophane” plus lead singles “In the Crossfire” and “Last in Line” certainly stand out. The prize for Most Addictive Chorus goes to “Fear Within Our Grasp”, a cathartic spider-web of chugging guitar and lonely, hanging riffs that will leave old-school Aberdeen fans drooling. As for complaints, we have only one: The two-minute codas for “Shadows (In an Empty Room)” and album finale “Whisper to My Lonely Self” go on far too long for any song not named “Layla”.
According to an interview with the Rock Pit’s Andrew Slaidins, Mat Robins constantly writes new songs, even playing them onstage long before the official release. “I don’t want to hold onto or hold back a song for years before we start playing it… Beyond the album launch, we will start to play songs that haven’t been recorded or are being readied for the next album.” Such prolific creativity always impresses this reviewer, especially with quality output like this. As with Cicadastone’s prior releases, Future Echoes was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Mat at his own Coloursound Studios, where he creates all of the band’s music videos as well.
Too often, we chastise the record industry for forgetting how to have fun. Future Echoes is unabashed, unapologetically masculine music; if that’s a deal-breaker, consider yourself duly warned. But if Cicadastone can conquer a zealous grunge-hater like me, you might just be next.