It’s a snapshot. Not grainy - this is from a well balanced desk tape - but captured with no attempt to airbrush the minor imperfections. Which adds to the charm.

If you don’t know Melbourne’s mod-pop kings Little Murders your life is incomplete. They were two years into their stop-start career and “Anglesea 1981” captures one of the early line-ups on a New Year’s Eve night in a crammed pub on the Victorian Surf Coast. There’s a fair sprinkling of what you should recognise as classics, plus some spirited covers.

The performance is great but the songs more so. “Things Will Be Different” stands out as one of the best power pop tunes to spring from The Australian underground in the last 40 years, but Rob Griffiths doesn’t write duds and there are other gems like “What’s The Matter With Mary?”, “She’s The One” and “Take Me I’m Yours” that hold up equally well. 

“She Let’s Me Know” was the then-current single and its hooky melody line and alternately chiming and accenting guitars resonate brightly.  The band’s version of The Easybeats’ “I’ll Make You Happy” and the Clash’s “Garageland” are good but “Stand By Me” is a step above, thanks in part to Alan Brooker’s melodic, driving bass. It’s a key thing, too, on “It’s Over”, an underrated B-side. 

You can only assume there was a lot of energy flowing between band and crowd because the sound of the punters is absent, but that’s by no means a detraction. Little Murders pick up momentum early and finish this gig with a full head of steam. There’s the odd bum note and Rob Griffiths’ character-laden, laddish vocal sometimes slips off-key but this is a live and loud show when pitch correction was a glimmer in a Milli Vanilli producer’s eye. 

The show’s been circulating for years but the official CD version adds two more songs, “Killing Time” and “Wait Till You Make Up Your Mind”, from another gig that are keepers. 

Written by The Barman on 28 November 2020.

Hello I-94 Bar Readers , well with all the bushfires and a shit Government ain't it good that there is music to take your mind this horrific summer. Folks, here is a worthy distraction

“Dromana Rama” is a pure pop sounding album with a nod to those old English mod bands. Little Murders were formed in 1979 by Rob Griffiths have a rich history in old Victoria as those who have followed the local music landscape can tell you.

Now, this is not the original line-up, but who fucking cares? With Rob Griffiths (vocals), Rod Haywood (guitar), Andrew Royal (guitar- piano-vocals) just smashing out wah wah sounds and trading guitar licks, it's hard not to turn it up to 11 and dance around. It's that infectious. Shaun Lahour (drums) and Bruce Minty (bass) just keep these wonderful tunes rocking along - or popping along is probably a more accurate description .

“Memory Sky” kicks the album of and sets, the tone for the rest. “Helena” just chunks along, “Train” is pure rock. “52 Bands” is my personal favorite track and is pure gold. “Try Try Try” is a beautiful tune with some lovely piano played by Andrew Royal

“Dromana Rama” is a must have. It can be found at Off the Hip Records in Melbourne, onBandcamp or at any Little Murders gigs. If you’re so inclined, Little Murders are part of a gig called “Shake Yer Popboomerang” at the fabulous Tote Hotel in Collingwood on Sunday, February 16. it should be a dancing time. See ya there. Happy New Year From The Farmhouse. - Ronald Brown

Forty years ain’t a bad innings for a band. By any measure. Sure, Little Murders spent patches of that time on hiatus - and the band is essentially a “brand” for leader Rob Griffiths, its only constant member - but a few of the current personnel are long-termers, and its sound has remained intact throughout.

Name a band that hasn’t changed membership over a period of decades? If you’re a fan, the best you can hope for is that a collective has remained true to its spirit, usually defined over the course of a brief purple patch of two or three records, and doesn't serve up a dud. Little Murders has stayed the course and for considerably more than a handful of albums.

As alluded in a past review, Rob Griffiths used to write a blog called "100 Songs" about songs that had touched him. One tune, one post. It was an incisive trip through all sorts of music that respected no hard generic boundaries. Rob’s a song guy, no doubt, but the common thread was his love for a great pop melody and a lyric that sparked an emotion.

So it is with “Dromana-Rama”, which is the eighth album under the band’s name. There’s been the odd side trip down the years, but Little Murders is mostly about killer guitar pop. “Dromana-Rama” does not stray from that path and it does not miss. There’s a baker’s dozen of songs on “Dromana-Rama” and they’e all in the Little Murders tradition of succinct, lingering and tuneful stories.

“Noisy Cats” (showcased on the recent Popboomerang power pop extravaganza) is artful pop where emotion is expressed through everyday observations. Easier said than done but this is Rob Griffiths' stock-in-trade. The song is an instant classic. 

“Train” is urgent riffing and sharp slide with a simple, allegorical lyric (“Our love is like a train/coming round the bend”) that throws the Griffths modus operandi into stark relief. Like Mariani, Medew, Masuak and Oxley (I’ll declare an interest in the middle two), Rob matter-of-factly puts his emotions out there, dresses them in tunes and lets the listener join the dots.

Musically, Griffiths lays down his guitar for this album and leaves the interplay up to Rod Hayward and relative newcomer Andrew Royall. Opener “Memory Sky” digs in its hooks from the get-go; "One by One" hangs off an undulating melody and throws in some country licks. "Wait" applies a similar melodic formula but falls back on some insistent riffing. "52 Bands" is a simple knee-rattler. Rod Hayward's guitar talks on "Baby I Love You" (not the Ronettes song). And so it goes.

Although there's the odd false step - "Blairgownie" sounds sketchy to these ears - there's not much to dislike. If Rob writes bad songs he doesn't record them.

There are guests - Killjoys vocalist Anna Burley adds some backing vocals and Danny McDonald (guitar) and Craig Pilkington (bass - and producer) provide cameos - but "Dromana-Rama" is as much the work of a band as its songwriter. Catch them if they play near you. If you don't, buy their albums. - The Barman