Stonefield is an Australian rock band comprised of the four Findlay sisters: Amy on vocals and drums, Holly on Bass, Sarah on keys, and Hannah on guitar. The eldest of them was born in 1990, but their music is tough, swaggering hard rock - fierce shredding, whirling organ freakouts, and pummeling drum fills. No huge surprise that their parents were big classic rock fans, with Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, and Zappa making frequent appearances on the family stereo. The quartet began by taking lessons from a neighbor before going on to win some local Battle of The Bands competitions. In 2010, They entered the Triple J Unearthed Contest with their track “Foreign Lover”, going on to win the grand prize. By 2012, they had criss-crossed the globe, opening for the likes of Foo Fighters and Kaiser Chiefs. Bent is their fourth full-length, and if you’ve been missing the typical prog/psyche vibes on the last couple of King Gizzard records, this should wet your whistle, as it was produced by the Lizard Wizards themselves. This record is a big step up sonically, approaching the grandeur of their inspirations. “We kind of feel like we need to write a whole heap of songs before we get to the point of knowing the vibe of the whole album,” Amy says. “Overall, it’s quite heavy, it’s synthy and it’s a bit spooky.” Album opener “Sleep” is anything but restful, beginning with arena-shaking riffs cut through by keyboard vamps and filtered vocals. “Dead Alive” features crunchy guitar and endless layers of synths - a cosmic vibe with a few bumps in the road. “Dignity” is a delicate bleep-bloop interlude into the sludgy, suffocating “Shutdown”. This is the ATO/Flightless version of the record, and is pressed on opaque red vinyl. Includes a 2-sided insert with the album artwork on one side and full lyrics on the other. 

• "bent red wax" colored vinyl pressing
• includes printed insert with album lyrics
• limited edition
• music label: ATO Records 2019

reviewed by MUTTERHEAD 07/2019