The Belair Lip Bombs — Again (Third Man Records) (13th Floor Album Review)
Melbourne’s The Belair Lip Bombs don’t waste time. Their second album, Again, packs a restless half-hour of wiry guitars, melodic punch, and emotional intelligence into ten tracks that move like a live set: fast, tight, and slightly unpredictable.
This is the sound of a band growing up without losing their spark: defiant, heartfelt, and lean.
Maisie Everett’s vocals remain the anchor, cool and direct one moment, urgent and cutting the next. Around her, Daniel Devlin on drums, James Droughton on bass, and Michael Bradvica on guitar create a taut rhythm section that balances power with agility. Co-producers Joe White (of Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever) and Nao Anzai add depth and space to the sound. Touches of Hammond organ depth, synth shimmer (often provided by Anzai), and ethereal violin (by Kathleen “Kat” Mear) give the record a little polish without sanding off its edges.
The opening Again and Again sets the pace immediately. A tight burst of rockabilly drumming from Devlin locks in with Droughton’s bass as Bradvica’s guitar leaps forward, the band hitting full stride in seconds. It is all forward motion and no looking back. Then comes Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair), a manifesto disguised as a groove. Everett half-talks and half-sings against a scratchy guitar riff, pushing back at unseen powers with the title refrain. The song climbs and climbs, the guitars rising in intensity as if outrage itself were fuelling the rhythm.
Another World keeps the adrenaline high. A pulse of bass and cymbal gives way to stabbing guitar bursts that bring both danger and excitement. Everett’s voice sits lower in the mix, threading through rather than floating above the sound. The song is quick, bright, and followed by the slower pace of Cinema, which unfolds, ominous and reflective, as the band shows they can do tension as well as tempo.
In the middle stretch, Back of My Hand and Hey You form the emotional core. Back of My Hand rushes along on bass and drums, playful and intense in equal measure. Everett delivers lines like “a piano falling out from the sky” with a mix of humour and sincerity, while Bradvica’s guitar surges around her. Hey You begins with a looping synth motif before the rhythm section storms in. The song alternates between full-throttle urgency and sudden drops to near silence. Everett sounds caught between confrontation and collapse as she sings “Breaking the silence, I’m breaking my bones.”
The final run turns reflective without losing momentum. If You’ve Got the Time sways between restraint and release. Smiling hides its unease behind an upbeat drive, the groove pulsing as the guitars circle. Burning Up stretches past four minutes, opening with echoing keys and slowing into a hypnotic sway before fading into calm. The closer Price of a Man begins with a gentle bass figure and light percussion that settles into a breezy mood, bringing the album to a buoyant finish.
Throughout Again, The Belair Lip Bombs balance clarity and confusion, confidence and doubt. It is music built on motion, where urgency becomes persistence and defiance turns into melody. It is a whip-smart record of propulsion and purpose. Again turns defiance, heartbreak, and hard-won confidence into thirty minutes of perfectly wired momentum.
John Bradbury
Again is out today via Third Man Records
