- Wonderfuls make sombre, depression ridden tunes of nostalgic reflection. The band is a duo comprised of Brisbane visual artist and noted wastoid Bobby Bot on vocals, and his Gold Coast based cousin Danny McGirr on guitar. They've been playing under the name Wonderfuls since 2004 yet have rarely played live, but when they do it has always been something of a special event. Why? Because the Wonderfuls express deeply personal issues like mental illness and social isolation better and with more sincerity than any other band you will hear in our fine tropical city. This is challenging music that most listeners might find hard to enjoy but that is part of the appeal. The people in this band are seriously messed up, with a long history of psychiatric disorders, and their music is a direct and honest extension of that.
New LP 'Salty Town' could well be considered their most coherent release yet, at least compared to the excellent yet disorderly 'Piss Fist' EP that was released on Negative Guest List back in 2010. The heartfelt ballad 'North' is the highlight of Salty Town, and sums up Wonderfuls at their most lucid yet deranged state. A restrained and darn nice electric guitar provides an ambient background to Bobby's neurotic vocals as he vividly narrates a childhood memory of going to a school fete. 'I spat in a kids ear' he croons with an insane drunken eloquence, as the dark adventure inside his messed up brain unfolds. It is hauntingly beautiful in its simple depth - there is a powerful subtlety at work that creates an atmosphere of someone who has been to hell and returned irreparably damaged. 'Political Camp' turns up the noise slightly and if drums were added it would make for a fine punk rock song. Instead it is something in and of itself as it exists solely within the Wonderfuls strange universe and I'm sure only they completely understand it.
'Salty Town' definitely is not an album that most sensible and well adjusted music listeners would enjoy, and I am guessing it was not intended to be. You probably won't hear Wonderfuls being played on a stereo at a friend' s pool party, or at least one that doesn't involve drowning yourself. This is music created by fucked up people, for fucked up people. The fact that they were able to hold themselves together long enough to record a whole album is remarkable in itself. The Wonderfuls are a true voice for weirdo loners everywhere. They are also a unique oddity within the Brisbane musical landscape, and deserve great respect for being so.
- Matt Kennedy