A standout from the Tasmanians’ fourth album, “Never Better” is a reflection on facades and brave faces. If we’re ever asked if we’re okay, all of us have used the titular phrase as means of reassurance. Here, vocalist Tyler Richardson removes the veneer and draws in listeners with some of his most brutal, honest lyrics: “Every effort feels so tired and rehearsed,” he laments at one point; “I’m coming apart at the seams,” he confesses at another. His bandmates drawback and venture into more restrained, twinkly musical territory to ensure these words are crystal clear. Songs like “Never Better” matter.
If preceding LP’s Extended Family and By A Thread sound like a young band experimenting excitingly with the elements of punkrock, If This Is All We’re Going To Be sees the band nail their unique, cracking formula. They’ve perfectly married melody, their trademark meandering guitar lines and self-examining lyrical content with the foundational punk and rock ideals that inspired the band.
The Fat Angel Sings 