Track Review: Ben’s Backyard // Lizzie Jack and the Beanstalks

Hailing from the Australian city of Wollongong – don’t you just love how Wollongong rolls off the tongue? Anyway, hailing from this city is grunge meets indie-rock foursome Lizzie Jack and the Beanstalks. Gaining a reputation for nostalgic lyricism over engaging melodies, Lizzie Jack and her crew have featured on The Other Side Reviews, The AU Review and Triple J Unearthed (just to name a few publications). The latest addition to this group’s repertoire is ‘Ben’s Backyard’.

“I wanted to write a nostalgic summer song that people could relate to. ‘Ben’s Backyard’ is basically about having fun and drinking on the beach in a small tone, which is most of what we did. I liked the idea of reminiscing on being drunk and lonely and 17 and how important that all felt at the time.” – Lizzie Jack on ‘Ben’s Backyard’

A sonic representation of those “lazy days in summer”, ‘Ben’s Backyard’ is a raw, honest and filled with sentimentality. Combining the pounding drums with forceful guitars and Lizzie’s gritty (but in a good way) vocals, the awesome foursome grab you by the hand to take you on a nostalgic walk down the road. In true grunge style, there is a distortion in instrumentation that collides slightly with the vocals; however, there maintains a harmonic flow through the melody. It’s like seeing a golden thread shimmering beneath the hazy swirl of colourful clouds.

What I find particularly endearing about Lizzie Jack and the Beanstalks is the Australian inflexion in Lizzie’s vocals. This slight twinge, be it consciously done or not, seems to add a uniqueness to the group making them stand out above the rest of the grunge bands I have had to process. Overall, ‘Ben’s Backyard’ is a true success for the Aussie foursome and is only a sign of much greater things to come. I can’t wait for more material!