Their third album and first in five years, Deliverance is a consistently impressive encapsulation of the evolution Melbourne’s Witch Hats have shown across their records. There’s plenty of dark, lurching rock ‘n’ roll with howling dirges and claustrophobic angst. The bass is deep and heavy, anchoring the songs as they stagger off into Stooges proto-punk, and nihilistic post-punk. The key is the melodies that still burn a hole in the gothic, swampy vibe. They’re firmly in the realm of The Clash, The Drones and The Gun Club yet they’ve dug their own hook-laden hole and decorated it with all manner of exceptional dark pop and bruised, gutter-punk blues.

Chris Familton