Ben Ely stares calmly, coldly, with anticipation, at an advancing Quan Yeomans, waits for his moment and strikes, sending Yeomans flying through the air into a tree. Yeomans - in classic Chinese martial arts film fashion flies a good 20 feet backwards, arms and legs splayed with considerable velocity and height. In a peculiar fashion, he fits the room, seems comfortable within the perfect aesthetics of this inner sanctum where careers and decisions come and go with the wind of a tape, the spin of a CD and a percussion of discussion. Tu Plang - from unknowns to, well, unarguably the most exciting Australian band in a decade. This IS the band that threatened from day one that it could implode and walk away renee, anyday - and still could.
Coffee arrives, milk in a plastic cup - the jug is broken.
So while Ely pours, some history. What cheek, what gall. The antithesis of FSO , the cookie from hell burns bright, rockist and rapacious, a healthy smear of power rap pop that pogoes all over your lobes and drums. All that said, Tu Plang is the year's most important album by an Australian act. And, worry not, Regurgitator have delivered the goods way beyond expectations.