The accent is Aussie, but the heart is Havilah, for the characters The Drones create; pitted, sunken creatures, on the filthy outskirts of civilisation. Their fifth album, Havilah, takes its title from the Bible; a place outside of Eden; a place to own. At once an alpine town in Victoria, where The Drones slaved in isolation to mine their own rich vein of punk blues, Havilah is as much a claim, staked out amidst the broken and desolate landscapes of Australia. Theirs is the cry for intelligent punk, and an account of the down-and-out; the battler wading through the squall. Gripping tales of beasts and demons encountered on the way are told with a sort of sorcery, with the record fired only under diesel generator at their home in Havilah. Lead singer, Gareth Liddiard snarls and sprays, and spurs from aggression to lament with quick control, and the band bend and scratch their songs with riveting command. 

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The Drones have a chat to My Vision TV and get analyticial about the Brisbane music scene and life on the road whilst battling the sounds of the Brisbane Laneway Festival atmosphere (surrounded by three stages!).

            The Drones could be claimed a national treasure, in fact, if they weren’t so misanthropic.  It’s well documented that the first line to “Oh My” reads, “People are a waste of food”, and the first single off the album, “The Minotaur” sounds just as it is. All the same, The Drones aren’t completely morbid, without a hint at the theatrical, and there’s good reason why they won the Australian Music Prize — the nation’s top honour — in 2005, ahead of their more lucrative rivals, like Wolfmother. Aside from the despair and desolation, The Drones’ songs are character driven, and most closely akin to Tom Waits, but more vicious. Half the fun is when the arch battler sits down beside us on the stool and tries to justify his degradation. In this way, one can easily get swept along the narrative and end up barracking for the scurrilous cavalcade.

            But for the plaudits, but for the joyous carousing, and ferocious sorrow, The Drones have yet to establish a sizable fan base outside of Australia. On the back of Havilah though, they’ve embarked on a massive tour worldwide. Currently kicking through the US, The Drones will be back in Australia over May, with live shows up and down the coast, before heading to Europe. The ambition it seems is to fight for Havilah beyond this land.

- James McLaughlin