for the official site of The Double Agents  click here

'Friends in Low Places' spooky009

           

Out Now Australia on Spooky Records / MGM

Beat Magazine Album of the Week

PBS Album of the Week

 

Reviews

8 Weekly – The Netherlands

Af en toe krijg je zo'n cd in handen geduwd waar je in eerste instantie weinig mee kan. Je weet wel, een plaatje van een band waar je echt nog nooit van hebt gehoord. Op een dergelijk moment is het natuurlijk slim om allereerst naar het label achterop de plaat te kijken. In het geval van deze cd van The Double Agents is dat Spooky Records, een fantastisch label uit Melbourne, Australië, dat de mensheid in het verleden al verblijdde met Here Come the Lies van The Drones. Wat me tevens al direct aansprak was het artwork van de plaat: een schitterende jaren '50 aandoende tekening van een vrolijk meisje, dat vol jolijt een luchtbuks aan het richten is.

Het betreft hier de eerste full-length van The Double Agents, die in 2001 debuteerden met een self-titled EP. De muziek die me tegemoet komt, klinkt als een soort mix van rauwe garage en 60s country-rock. Al vanaf het eerste nummer Bottom Line bevalt de plaat me wel. De tamelijk elementaire muziek wordt vocaal ondersteund door een dame met de fantastische naam Kim Walvisch. Haar schorre stem geeft de openingstrack de perfecte, bijpassende rauwe zang. Het album rockt lekker verder met Hole In My Heart, ditmaal gezongen door zanger/gitarist Dave Butterworth. Vervolgd wordt met onder andere de fijne ballads Walk Away en What You Never Had. Zeker de laatste bereikt een hoog sfeerniveau door de achtergrondkoortjes van Sharon MacLean en Myles Gallagher. Rest nog de introductie van Ryan Tandy, die met zijn lap steel op het album ook een belangrijke rol vervult.

 Koen ter Heegde

 

Black Maria Zine - Vancouver

The Double Agents are genuinely Australia’s best kept secret. This fiery unit from Melbourne are not content with sticking to convention. The double agents are the antidote to the pretentious brand of rock’n’roll around at the moment. They intertwine boogie rock, swampy fuzz overloads, delicate country musings and lush reverb-soaked ballads to make a totally unique sound. The great songs on the album are ‘ain’t gonna happen’ , ‘Bottom Line’ , ‘Friends in Low Places’ and ‘Thrill has gone’. ‘thrill has gone’ takes the cake as my favorite song due to an excellent guitar solo at its 7 minute climax. Kim Walvisch sings on ‘friends in low places and plays piano on other songs, frontman Diamond Dave plays rhythm guitar with Ryan Tandy on lead and lap steel guitar. Sharon MacLean and Myles Gallagher keep the rhythm section tight on bass and drums respectively whilst occasionally doing backup vocals.

James

 

Garagepunk.com  - USA

 

How come no one's made mention of The Double Agents on this forum yet? Are y'all livin' in a cave? Holy crap this CD is HOT! Melbourne, huh? Shit yeah. Great disc!

 

Kopper

 

Mondongo Canibale  - Spain

Friends in low places es el debut de esta banda Australiana bajo el sello Spooky Records. Podemos encontrar sucio rock n´roll, su rollito blusero, un poco de soul y mucho country, sin dejar de lado sus paseitos por el surf, guitarras con slides, canciones a medio tiempo, pianos, harmónicas, guitarras acústicas, lap steel.... Nos encontramos también con dos vocalistas Kim Walvisch and Dave Butterworth, chica y chico respectivamente que nos deleitan en algunas canciones cantando a duo. El disco tiene 11 canciones y dura casi 42 minutos, títulos como botton line, hole in my heart, the bliss, walk away...nos llevan desde el rock n´roll de Detroit, pasando por el rock n´blues de los 50, sus baladas y las mezclas de lap steel con piano. Así que ya sabes si eres amante de todos estos sonidos dales una oportunidad, quizás a ti te llenen mucho más que a mi, ya que personalmente me resultan un poco cansinos, no son para nada una mala banda, pero como os comento pueden llegar a ser un tanto tostón y aburridos, todo es escucharlos y que cada uno juzgue por si mismo.

Linoleum

 

Rip It Up – Adelaide, Australia

There is nothing conventional about the latest offering from The Double Agents and this, in my humble opinion, makes for an outstanding album. They are a rare band because they are not contrived nor do they fall under that pretentious bullshit brand of rock’n’roll that is all over the radio waves at the moment. Their attitude for not giving a continental shines all over this album.

It has taken a while for it to hit the shelves despite the fact that they have been making hips shake and feet stomping for the last three years.

The album has been described as a rather schizophrenic record that takes tangents between flat out good time boogie rock, swampy fuzz overloads, delicate country musings and lush reverb-soaked ballads. Unique is the word that accurately describes The Double Agents (three guys and two gals from sunny Melbourne).

The opening two songs, Bottom Line and Hole In My Heart, shows how great and danceable The Double Agents are and these tunes are definitely a couple of the many highlights on the album. The title song, Friends In Low Places, has been around for a while now after being introduced on The Spooky Records Bootlegs - Volume One. Nevertheless its still a classic with the sexy tones of Kimmy purring out the line, ‘it takes fifty grand to rub you out’.

Another great moment is Baby Don’t Cry (not to be confused with the INXS song) followed closely by Friend Like You - they are simply great songs that don’t need further explanation.

This album sizzles and I’m not talking about the  naked women on the cover art!

Rob Lyon

 

Time Off – Brisbane, Australia

Like kids who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, these five from Melbourne play an old kind of rock’n’roll, a down south Memphis sound. Distilled on equal doses of honky-tonk, country and jukebox rock, they follow a path the Rolling Stones travelled some 30 years ago.

‘Bottom Line’ kicks off the album in a rollicking fashion. The title track sounds like a sultrier feminine version of our own SixFtHick, the vocals of Kim Walvish and Sharon MacLean beckoning. ‘Walk Away’ inhabits the same dark underbelly Rowland S. Howard usually hides within.

From there, the album continues further down towards the bottom of the glass, doses of keys, lap-steel, forlorn words and guitars filled with sorrow making the trip worthwhile. Final track ‘Thrill Has Gone’ breaks out of its own torpor with guitars flailing, leaving us with hearts trying to mend and the possibility of tomorrow.

HHH (Richard Alverez)

 

Cyclops Zine – USA

“Friends in Low Places” is the debut album by the Double Agents on Australia’s Spooky Records. The Double Agents are outta Melbourne, Australia and music with little bits of everything we love here at Cyclops, dirty rock n’ roll, blues, soul and country. All this mashed together makes for one great listen. They have two main vocalist, Kim Walvisch and Dave Butterworth. Having both a male and female vocalist switch off between songs keeps the record and I’m sure the live show exciting. “Bottom Line” is the first track. It’s sung by Ms. Walvisch and is a bit of Detroit rock n’ roll. It’s a groove, some of that r&b in it that had the folks smashin’ records back in the 50’s. “Hole In My Heart”  sung by Dave Butterworth is a rockin’ country tune. The lap steel and piano work on this tune are absolutely killer. “Walk Away” is a haunting ballad sung with great effect by Butterworth. “Action Swing” is another great rock and roller. Lordy I love Ms. Walvisch voice, it’s rough and sultry. “Friend Like You” is a real nice country rocker that would make Uncle Tupelo proud. The record ends on the epic ballad “Thrill is Gone.” It’s real soft and beautiful. That is until the sizzling steel lap solo during the last couple of minutes of the song. It’s a nice ending. Every song on this disk is excellent. This debut record is a real find and signals the arrival of a great new band. I think this one will find it’s way onto my list of best records of the year.

Cyclops Mark

 

I-94 Bar - Sydney

 
Melbourne five piece The Double Agents have picked up from where they left off on their debut EP and seem determined to make diversity a virtue with the 11 tracks here on "Friends in Low Places".

"Bottom Line" is an energetic, short and sharp rocker that opens the album, and is followed by "Hole in My Heart". Where "Bottom Line" rocks and gets you shaking, "Hole in My Heart" keeps things moving in a Stonesy-MC5 (circa "Sister Anne") vein, and features the kind of slide guitar playing to make Peter Wells take notice. Next are the swampy/jungle/garage sounds of the title track with Kim "Miss Kimmy" Walvisch on lead vocals. This is a blend of sounds and vocals which is incredibly unique - imagine Deborah Harry were to get down and dirty fronting The Cramps at their swampy and sleazy best.

"Walk Away" takes listeners into a sombre, introspective Neil Young-influenced mood, where vocalis-guitarist "Diamond" Dave Butterworth seems to ponder what has just been with a previous partner...

"The Bliss" lifts the tempo (and volume) as "Miss Kimmy" takes back lead vocal duties. It's an inspired decision as her delivery works incredibly well as the song continuously builds. "Baby Don't Cry" seems like a radical departure with its short and sharp blues-funk style. "Friend like You" returns the band to its Neil Young/Stonesy roots with the rhythm section solid and flexible and guitarist Ryan Tandy delivering some impressive lead guitar work. "What You Need" is sombre country rock with great vocals from "Diamond" Dave and Joel Silbersher. The closer, "Thrill Has Gone" is a malevolent scorcher, in a similar vein to the New Christs' "Bed of Nails".

The Double Agents' "Friends in Low Places" is the remarkable and impressive debut LP and proves that Melbourne rock does not just rock and can roll. 

Simon Li

 

Inpress – Melbourne

When an album's been a year in the making, there's plenty of room for nailing it and fucking it up - all that thinking time can't be a good thing for a rock 'n' roll band. Dave Butterworth (who co-produced with Barry Stockley) and band clearly had the album in their collective minds before they plugged in and adopted a kind of tunnel vision. It's worked well for the final product, although the band no doubt are now frothing for new material from Butterworth.

What's immediately striking about Friends In Low Places is how well the dirty Americana swing of The Double Agents translates to tape (two inch). The throaty vocals of Kim Walvisch on opener The Bottom Line, Action Swing and the title track just arrest you - sure, she's up in the mix and she's working it, but she and the band are very clearly having a lot of fun. The latter two songs also beautifully recreate the effect The Double Agents achieve live by building a heavy groove with bass and drums before sawing through it with guitar treble.

The songwriting is impressive and purposeful on this debut - highlights are Ain't Gonna Happen and Hole In My Heart. While still a lyrically and thematically strong album, it's easy to hear Butterworth building songs around instrumental ideas and grooves. What You Never Had seems less tied together by ideas than other songs and at the core is weaker, but it has an instrumental ease, with its occasional walking low-down guitar and rich harmonies, that strengthens the ability of Friends In Low Places to exist as an album that can be put on and happily listened to from start to finish, much in the same way as Exile On Main Street.

Rod Collins.

 

Rip It Up - Adelaide

Now we hate harp on about this, but aren’t y’all getting a bit sick of slacker hacks everywhere using the tag rock ‘n’roll for every two-bit dross rock act south of the Pecos? Look it’s this simple, if it makes you shake your ass, it’s rock’n’roll. If it shudders along on a stiff, cock rock backbeat, it’s rock. Now The Double Agents are sassy rock’n’roll desperados with two singers (Miss Kim and Mr Dave), a thumping rhythm section, slashing guitars and swooping lap steel, outta Melbourne who couldn’t give a flying rat’s ass about image or posing ­ they’re here to get the groove on: danger style, as heralded by the tune Friends In Low Places on the Spooky Bootleg (which you’ll recall we said was the best of the best). Cue up Bottom Line and watch your booty lose it. And that’s just the first damned song, there’s 11 more here. Whether it’s danger, confession, crooked love or backwards glances; you’ll get a winning and inspired blend of swaggering soul, ragged rockin’, moody blues, and even a touch of rolling country, right here. And remember these parting words sexily stated by first lady Kim: "It takes 50 Grand to rub you out." Yowsa!

Nazz

 

Beat Album of the Week - Melbourne

The Double Agents have finally released their debut album, Friends In Low Places. The term ‘finally’ does denote impatience, because if you’ve seen their live shows over the past year, you always knew this album was going to be exceptional. Greatness this good has been too long coming.

The Double Agents cover many genres, but basically it’s just full strength Rock & Roll, with little gin splashes of Rhythm & Blues. There’s many favourite things to get keyed up about when listening to The Double Agents, the tightest rhythm section laid down by Maclean and Gallagher, Miss Kimmy’s gently sloping piano playing and carnivorous voice, Dave Butterworth’s sweating and almost strangling of his larynx while playing his Telecaster like he’s putting it back together, and the little man Ryan Tandy mesmerising us drunk morons with his lap steel.

There’s nothing myopic or misguided in The Double Agents viewpoint. Probably the most important aspect to The Double Agents is the broad range of styles they deliver. They heave from Stax-inspired stompers, to slippery burlesque-infused barn dances, to Highway pothole-driving country weirdness. All the time proving they’re not jack of all trades, they accomplish and rule everything they administer. The other unflappable thing about this band is that Friends In Low Places is not some collection of Rock & Roll where every song sounds the same to the one that preceded it, nor do they sound like they’re ripping of anything that’s influenced them. It’s more a fact that anything that could influence The Double Agents, has actually inspired them to reach the same levels of significance.

Friends In Low Places is the best track-listed album. Meaning it’s well paced, and songs are well placed. This is the sort of album that grabs your attention right from its opening seconds. With cut-throat devices and swaggering intent, the album’s openers Bottom Line and Hole In My Heart show how dangerous and damn danceable The Double Agents are. The title track Friends In Low Places was first circulated on last years The Spooky Records Bootlegs – Volume One. It’s a lascivious saga of murderous goals all the more disconcerting as Miss Kimmy purrs out the words during the verses, then bellows to explode on the choruses. I never knew hearing the words “It takes fifty grand to rub you out” could ever sound so sexy.

The song Walk Away is moon-drenched in ether. It’s got a fuzzy country quantity that builds and builds in morose sentiment, all the while going as fast as one normal heartbeat. Walk Away is the first of many gifts on a deliriously great album. Aint Gonna Happen is the reverse pistol-whip to Walk Away. It’s a similarly paced song, but this time Dave Butterworth snarls away all dreamy qualities and offers one big fuck you to the object of his dissatisfaction.

Action Swing has always been a favourite of The Double Agents live show, and was also included on their 2001 self-titled debut EP. This is another of those songs whereby Miss Kimmy implores us to shake our skinny bubble butts. It’s also one of those songs that has a story in verse. Something about casting couches, Hollywood starlets and doing the Action Swing? Which is a euphemism, for what I’m not sure, but it sounds illegal, deviant and entirely pleasurable.

The best song on this album has to be Baby Don’t Cry. It sizzles, all broken-hearted and vicious, and the guitar absolutely smoulders with an out-of-the-ordinary purpose. Friend Like You is an anthem that oozes equal amounts of praise and contempt for the friend in question. It almost boosts along never becoming overwhelmed by its own catchiness.

What You Never Had is almost hymn-like. It’s another of those reveries, all blurry eyed and country inculcated. Harmony Vocals are ably attended to by Joel Silbersher. It’s some good shit. Thrill Has Gone is the sound of sunset, of bitterness, and of displeasure. It’s the perfect close to an amazing, endowed album.

The Double Agents have relinquished what was always on offer, a great and unforgettable album. Extra plaudits for whoever designed the albums cover art. There’s nothing better than hot naked women on matchbooks.

 

Shane Jesse Christmass