- In what can only be seen as an absolute win for society as a whole, Sydney four-piece the Bed Wettin' Bad Boys have produced what is known in the music business as a "new album". The record in question, Rot, is their second full-length to date and comes four, long, arduous years after their first; which is wild considering that the majority of this record was recorded over two years ago, and some of these delicious cuts have been a part of their live shows for even longer than that. If I know anything about life, which is a questionable prospect at best, I know that life will find a way to delay even the most mundane tasks: like shaving or purchasing a new pair of pants, so I'd take this belated little slice of life, uncomplaining, even if I had to cryogenically freeze myself until the glorious and overdue rise of our lizard people overlords.

I don't know if it's my prior and absolutely disheartening experience with wetting the actual bed, or simply a mutual lust for life but I've always had a major soft spot for these particular Bed Wettin' Bad Boys. There's this unassuming, pretension free and downright life affirming quality that surround these humans that myself and a chunk of other left wing whackos around the world just can't get enough of, despite the fact that, until very recently they had only one full-length LP and a small handful of seven-inches to their name. There's always been this slight air of mystery surrounding the group, and their continual displays of not giving a shit only makes me want to engage with them even more; they're quite literally the musical equivalent of a goddamn cat.

On Rot the Bed Wettin' Bad Boys continue their raw and unwavering take no bullshit rock 'n' roll. For those that binged on their debut, Rot will be both a reassuringly familiar extension of what originally hooked you in the first place, while the band push forward and incorporating some new subtleties into their song craft. On early cut Expanding Horizons, there's this killer little keyboard line, that if it was anymore prominient in the mix, might have me imagining I'd been transported to some world in which Ted Leo and Jay Reatard made sweet, modest love and birthed out these little miracles. Coming in at just over a minute and a half, honest to goddamn god, I must have listened to that song, legit, thirty times in a goddamn row. It's the musical equivalent of crystal meth to my brain and I'm past the point at which I'm ever going to go to sleep even in my wildest and most saucy dreams.

Fast forward to album closer Turn The Page, and you'll find the epic conclusion to Bed Wettin' Bad Boys sophomore record, a seven minute opus that opens with some powerful affirmations about life that seem both reasonable and might just speak directly to your own crusty soul. At the point in which the group would usually wrap it up and blast you with another tasty treat, the track unfolds into four more succulent minutes of saxophone infused jamming; a hypnotic wave of instrumental rock 'n' roll that showcases a side of Bed Wettin' Bad Boys that I could most definitely get behind; and dare I say, might just have overtaken Mr Bob Seger as my favourite song entitled Turn The Page. Wild.

Rarely do I get the pleasure to listen to a rock band that somehow doesn't give a shit, yet still comes across as completely heartfelt, honest and on the level as these Bed Wettin' Bad Boys. Rot might have been percolating for a tad too long for my impatient self, but there's just no denying the quality and quiet importance of this record in among Australia's current crop of genre-bending rock try-hards dripping with more style than substance. On Rot, the Bed Wettin' Bad Boys have morphed into somekind of Restroom Utilising Reasonable Humans... and maybe one day I too will follow their lead and grow the hell up.

- Jay Edwards.