311. Midnight Oil / Bird Noises [EP]. 1980. 4/5

From their inception through to the start of the new decade, Midnight Oil had made a habit of bumping heads with authority, of making their own rules when they felt it was necessary and of sticking to their own sound when it was suggested they might do better commercially if they were to follow a different path. Their blend of surf rock with post punk and other mandatory styles saw them create a following that began at small cult-like numbers and progressive built to bigger number.
Their self-titled debut album had brought them to notice, though some argued that it did not showcase the heat and passion that the band emitted in the live environment. This was something that was focused on for their follow up, 1979’s “Head Injuries”, which along with the increasing intensity of their newer songs also brought that fire and energy to the recording studio. The band toured extensively in support of the album, which saw it reach #36 on the Australian albums charts.
In April 1980, founding bass guitarist Andrew James left the band because of ill-health. His replacement was Peter Gifford, who would go on to be an integral part of the band for its influential albums over the next seven years.
In July of 1980 the band spent two days at Music Farm Studio in Byron Bay, laying down four new tracks that had not appeared on their first two albums. Why it took so long for those sessions to see the light of day is not something I can answer, but when they did arrive it was in the form of a four track EP, one that came at a close enough time to be considered a wonderful present to be purchased for Christmas, and to leap into the charts for the holiday period. The EP was titled “Bird Noises”, and it proved to be another fascinating step forward in the journey of the band to national and international recognition.

With just four songs it's a short sharp attack here, with four different attitudes. “No Time for Games” is the true star of the EP, bringing to focus the best parts of what the band offered on “Head Injuries” and ramping that up a fraction more, both musically and lyrically. The mood and tempo switches up a number of times through the song. At times you think it is going to break into a fast paced heavy monster, before it pulls itself back toe introspectively observe the character of the song. The bassline throughout from Peter Gifford is wonderful, and it dominates the mood of the track, while the squealing guitars riffs emphasise much of what is great about the band. It is a terrific song.
“Knife’s Edge” pushes off with a similar start, once again a great bassline throughout the song is accentuated by Moginie and Rotsey’s great guitaring, the way they settle off each other through the middle of the track in a great mid tempo track that incorporates the surf rock of the band musically with a more pertinent message lyrically. Again it probably doesn’t have the huge energy output you might expect when first listening to the song but it still packs a punch with that opening line of “On a knife edge razor day, if you listen long enough they've got nothing to say”.
"Wedding Cake Island” is the instrumental of the EP, and title referencing the small rock y outpost in Sydney seems almost perfect encapsulated by the music written and performed here by the band. It gives you an almost dreamy feel about the song, like spending a summers day on said Island and enjoying the serenity. The song does capture that feeling nicely. And finally “I’ve Got the Cure” has Garrett’s lyrics punching at the top of the song, nicely formulated into the circuitry of the music, and then the second half of the track mirrors the instrumental feel of the EP, just the band offering a different vision and soundscape of the back of the track, giving the end of the EP the conclusion it needed.

Midnight Oil came in to focus for me from their consistent release of singles, which got increasing airplay on our local radio stations through the early 1980’s. This eventually led me to buying their 1982 album “10-1”, one of the first albums I ever bought. It may have been the only one I owned for some time, though I would still hear, note and collate their songs from the radio as they were released over the years.
I still remember the first time I ever heard this EP with a clarity that probably should not be the case almost 40 years on from that moment. I was over at a mates house with a couple of other mutual friends, and the discussion somehow got around to Midnight Oil, most likely over their then new release ”Diesel and Dust”. My mate didn’t completely talk down the new album as such but he made clear that his preference was for their earlier material, and in particular he said, which I still remember to this day, “They’ll never make another ‘No Time for Games’”. I, in my apparent ignorance, said “What the hell is ‘No Time for Games’?” After some derisive comments about how could I not know what the hell ‘No Time for Games’ was, my mate dived for his cassettes and proceeded to put on the EP “Bird Noises”, and its wonderful guitar riff opening of ‘No Time for Games’. And yep, I was hooked from about 30 seconds in. And then I think I didn’t hear it again for another five years. That’s what happens I guess when heavy metal has taken over your soul.
I did of course rectify this situation, and bought my own copy of the EP, the one I have taken off the shelves again this week in order to experience its marvellous tones once again. And yes, it has been more than worth it. There isn’t a bad song here – which is a good thing because there are only four. And it is true that I don’t play this very often, because it is an EP. It’s like grabbing a single in this day and age – putting that on and then taking it off again five minutes later, that’s just ludicrous. But, every time I put this on, I love it all over again, and I do tend to just listen to it multiple times back to back. Which is exactly what I have done this week. It is still terrific to listen to, with that emerging sound that the Oils had in the early 1980’s. And, as my mate said all those years ago, have they ever made another ‘No Time for Games’?