Album review by Charlotte Poynton
An album destined to land in your top 3 of 2024, Eaglemont’s debut album Party Boy was released last week and has already garnered mass amounts of love and applause. Produced by Jonothon Tooke of Cry Club and mixed by Oscar Dawson of Holy Holy, Party Boy contains twelve tracks of grazed knees, late nights and retrospective emotional breakthroughs. Though fairly fresh to the scene, Eaglemont already boasts endorsements and praise from many reputable sources, including the one and only Phoebe Bridgers. Gaining fans left, right, and centre whilst on tour with bands including Cry Club, Slowly Slowly, and Luca Brasi, Eaglemont has recently sold out three launch shows in their hometown, making this Naarm based jangle rock musician one to watch and one very easy to love.
Two Dumb Kids
Setting the tone of Party Boy is the opening track, titled ‘Two Dumb Kids’. Sonically a soft indie rock track, the lyrics tell a story of an adolescent natured relationship with an unfortunate demise. ‘Two Dumb Kids’ is soon to become the soundtrack to many train trips staring out the window and reminiscing on what once was. Eaglemont combines motifs of sapphic yearning with a localised nod to Brunswick street to balance a recount of a unique personal experience with emotions vastly recognisable and relatable, a formula for a song destined to be on repeat until the early hours of any candlelit, rainy morning.
Party Boy
The title track of ‘Party Boy’ is one that you cannot help but dance along to, with lyrics designed to cathartically sing along to. Drawing audiences in with the straightforward idea of “I wanna be a party boy”, Eaglemont grasps attentions and creates an atmosphere to envy all indie coming-of-age movies. With a perfect blend of Eaglemont’s husky vocals, vivid lyrical storytelling and a cheeky tambourine throughout the chorus, ‘Party Boy’ is destined to be on repeat whilst you sit in the corner of a crowded room or for those nights that you’re in bed by 10pm.
Vodka Pineapple
Track three of Party Boy is ‘Vodka Pineapple’, which is the song that first got me hooked on the music of Eaglemont. After hearing this song live, a month after its release, in a crowded Tomcat room was an event that altered my brain composition and made ‘Vodka Pineapple’ my go-to song for my morning commutes. This track is a paradoxical daydream, featuring lyrics that read as an emotional diary entry that directly contrast with the bright and carefree tone colour. Eaglemont has masterfully captured the fireworks that burst in your mind when you stumble upon someone you used to love but know it’s too late to make amends, creating a song to cathartically scream along to into the void.
At this point in the album, after loving 100% of what I’ve heard so far, I begin to wonder if this album will be as significant to my late teens and early twenties as Lorde’s Pure Heroine was to my early teen self.
IKEA
‘IKEA’, coming in as track four, is “not affiliated with any Swedish furniture company in particular” but is guaranteed to break your heart into many pieces that will require assembling without a manual in a foreign language. A song about being left with only with the house and the lesser half of the shared goods in a breakup, a piano countermelody dances through the track as if an emulation of the ghosts of the couples’ memories tiptoeing through the half-empty rooms. Where previously my personal highlight of an IKEA store would be those delectable meatballs, my new highlight of ‘IKEA’ is the phenomenal three line bridge that shook me to the core, its simplicity merely a façade for the emotional weight intertwined in those words.
Four Years
A banjo melody welcomes us into track five of ‘Four Years’, a song that feels like a warm cup of tea after a late night. Leaning into country music territory, ‘Four Years’ is sonically reminiscent of a Brandi Carlile track, with vocal harmonies on the chorus and lyrical imagery of small towns and romanticised day-to-day living.
Sleep Alone
After the tender nature of ‘Four Years’, track six of ‘Sleep Alone’ reinstates the indie rock vibe with lyrics addressing self-sabotage and introspective reflections. This track displays the richest lyricism of Party Boyso far, with a strong pre-chorus that builds vulnerability before closing the chorus with the line “So I’ll make my bed and I’ll sleep alone for once”. ‘Sleep Alone’ joins ‘Two Dumb Kids’ as the ideal songs to reminisce to whilst gazing out the window, proving that Eaglemont has mastered the craft of putting those complex emotions of the past into not just words, but into addictive, raw and relatable songs.
Girls Darts Panic Attacks
Another stand-out single prior to the album release is track seven of ‘Girls, Darts, Panic Attacks’. This song is the first that I show to people when introducing Eaglemont, as it perfectly encapsulates the sound and aesthetic of her music. Lyrics such as “I’m still learning how to be content in my company” cut straight to the core, as Eaglemont spirals with the phrase “And I’m never on your mind”. With a pacing piano motif in the chorus and a haunting outro, ‘Girls, Darts, Panic Attacks’ becomes an absolute staple in Eaglemont’s discography and in every trajectory of a situationship.
You Don’t Live Here
In true Eaglemont nature, track eight of ‘You Don’t Live Here’ contains heart wrenchingly melodramatic lyrics which are paired with an upbeat and ecstatically fuelled sonic landscape. A kick drum gets your heart racing in the verses before the chorus drops with a shining feel-good tambourine, creating a song that makes you want to dance, before you stop and listen to the heartache buried deep within the lyrics. The versatility posed by the juxtaposing lyrics leaves ‘You Don’t Live Here’ as a song for every mood and occasion.
Fucking Things Up
Dialling it down again is the vulnerable plea of desperation of track nine, titled ‘Fucking Things Up’. With a gorgeous instrumental break and a series of repeated questions posed in pursuit of validation and reassurance, ‘Fucking Things Up’ highlights the scene of knowing someone is good for you but doubting that you can reciprocate that feeling. This is a soundtrack for those 3am cold sweats and breakdowns, and for those moments when the voices inside your head take the reins.
Normanby
Continuing with the theme of shattering your heart into absolute smithereens is track ten of ‘Normanby’. The lyrics of “Unfortunately, in love with you forever” set the fragile emotional tone of the track, as a guitar motif acts as a response to the call of Eaglemont’s localised travel route. Listening to Party Boy feels like reading one too many pages of Eaglemont’s diary, wading deeply into the heartache and pain until it blends with your own lived experiences.
Spiral
Track eleven of ‘Spiral’ leans further into the folk genre both sonically and lyrically, with poetic storytelling that paints vivid and tender imagery. Transporting audiences to a distantly magical landscape with lyrics such as “Guilty as sin, disbelief in your faith” and “Soft pale eye sin the corner of the plane”, Eaglemont describes such a delicate yet everlastingly strong love that you can’t help but envy.
Texas
Closing off Party Boy is a sobering breath of fresh air with track twelve, titled ‘Texas’. The maturity of this track encapsulates the journey travelled from the album opening tracks of ‘Two Dumb Kids’ and ‘Party Boy’, demonstrating the growth throughout the personal journey. ‘Texas’ is a profoundly deep and emotionally enriched masterpiece that showcases Eaglemont’s talent and limitless potential within the Australian music scene.
In all, Eaglemont’s Party Boy is, in my opinion, one of the strongest and most cathartically enjoyable albums of the year at this point. Whether that stands as a commentary on the type of person I am or not, there is no denying the purely addictive magic embedded in these twelve tracks.
Party Boy is out now.
