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Bedridden "I Told You It Wouldn't Work"
format: album, released: 1998

review by James Andean


On their third release, the brilliantly titled I Told You It Wouldn't Work, some
transformations begin to take place. For one thing, the band is down to a four-
piece, which means some of the feeling of a rowdy collective present on their
previous albums is absent here. For another, the album sounds like the band is
shifting from more live, one-take recording to a greater dependence on multi-track,
part by part studio recording (or at any rate, this is the impression the album
gives off...) And finally, there is a sense that the band is beginning to pursue
a more 'songwriterly' approach, again over the more relaxed, collective, almost
jam-oriented sound of the previous releases. As a result, there are maybe some
growing pains here, and the album occasionally stumbles in consequence; but, not
to despair, and do not be deterred: there is plenty of great material here as well.

What begins to stand-out as one of this album's greatest qualities results, possibly,
from this shift towards a more multitracked approach: many tracks contain wonderful
bits of production, subtle instrumental effects that show careful attention to detail
and a very artful approach to building the textures of the songs. Witness, for
example, the interplay of clarinets and vibes on "Snip"; or the opening melodic
interplay of guitar and banjo on "The UFO's".

Some highlights include the lovely "Melba", an ode to a recently-deceased cat, which
shows off some of the most ambitious production of the band's career; "The UFO's",
again with great production; the taunting tease of an instrumental, "Chasm Hoppers",
a great one minute throw-away; "Agent of Satan", with a very typical "We're all going
to die" refrain; and the absurd (if depressing) pop masterpiece "Miss Nude Australia
1995". The album also contains a few surprises - for example, "April of the Dickheads"
suddenly widens out halfway through to a broad Beach Boys-style production, the
grandiosity of which belies the literalness of its subject matter; or the Monty Python
humour of one of the album's two hidden tracks - "I'm a Spanish man (no he's not!)
going crazy on the hill, and I'll kill your dog, yes I will (no he won't)!!"

On the whole, maybe not quite as satisfying an album as the previous two; but this has
more to do with the brilliance of those albums than any weakness here. There is some
great stuff on I Told You It Wouldn't Work, and the album gives every reason to continue
to expect great things from the band.