Album Review: Bad Alien

Auckland-based 3-piece alternative-rock band, The Gemini Effect, have dropped their second burst of blues/grunge/classic-rock on their dynamic second album, Bad Alien. Riffy, melodic and highly catchy, Bad Alien is a diverse slice of strangely-familiar yet highly original alt-rock. Consisting of 15 songs over a total run-time of 52 minutes, this is a generous offering from The Gemini Effect, a band who really do seem to both appreciate and reward their audience.

The songwriting on this album skillfully and seemingly-effortlessly straddles a range of genres while retaining an overall cohesive sound. Echoes of the fuzz-rock/psychedelic artists of yesteryear merge with hints of classic British shoegaze-rock (e.g. Storm in Heaven-era Verve), a light smattering of guitar-alt-pop sensibilities (e.g. early Arctic Monkeys), and post-grunge rock, amongst other elements, combine to create the sonic palette of Bad Alien.

There are many standout tracks throughout this album, however, one of my favourites would be the slow-burner, Guns, a self-proclaimed “protest song about stupid white people with guns”. This track calls back to mind incredibly powerful imagery with its descriptions of famous protest images, such as the classic image of a hippie placing a flower into the barrel of a gun. The middle section does a magnificent job in picking up the overall energy of the track, sounding somewhat  reminiscent of UK punk pioneers The Clash.

Other standouts, for me, are the opener Oh Yeah Oh No, promotional single Little Mouse, and mid-album fuzz-out of Gemini. 

Typically ranging in the slow to mid-tempo range, this solid collection of tracks is a fun listen, and one that I imagine I will return to often.