‘Whyalla’ is the raucous new single by the Western Australian artist.
NEW MUSIC | PETER BIBBYS DOG ACT | WORDS BY ADAM DAVIDSON
With towering, distorted riffs that lurch into clean chorus sections, Peter Bibby and his Dog Act band nail the loud/ quiet grunge dynamic on ‘Whyalla’. Taking a leaf out of Ty Segall’s book with an added flavour of garage rock, this song spreads across six and a half minutes of crunchy tones and thumping drums. It’s a gnarly, gripping ride into Bibby’s universe, a fine introduction for an artist preparing to unleash his third album on the world.
Penned as a tribute to South Australia, Bibby wrote ‘Whyalla’ after a friend requested a song they could play on a road trip. Drawing inspiration from friends living in the city and “with a lot of help from Wikipedia”, Bibby’s ode to Whyalla includes a mid-song breakdown, making room for a reverential speech of tributes to some local heroes. He gives a shout out to a couple of sporting legends before settling on Alessandro Parisi, who set the world record for continuous pinball play in 2007.
Bibby’s half-screaming, whacked out vocal style really sells this song; his manic recalling of several facts about South Australia’s third most populous city (This song is an education!) clatter delightfully through the verses. The choruses offer a quick breather, as the mix simmers down while Bibby muses “Whyalla, why won’t you be my home?” before the crunch slams back in. It’s easy to imagine gazing out of a half-dropped car window as the Australian wilderness passes by while listening to ‘Whyalla’.
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