Legendary Australian rock band The Drones released their third studio album, “Gala Mill,” recorded entirely inside of an abandoned mill on the east coast of Tasmania On September 6, 2006. The Drones are known for their blues rock sound, and at times uncouth guitar tones, mixed with lead singer Gareth Liddiard’s poetic and intense lyricism and gruff vocal style. Their previous work was no stranger to dark and depressing subject matters, with “Locust” and their legendary single “Shark Fin Blues” off their previous album “Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By” being prime examples. However, “Gala Mill” takes it up a notch with some of the band’s most depressive material up to that point, and even still to this day.
The album’s opener, “Jezebel,” is a prime example of the drastic tonal shift in this album, containing lyrics and symbolism one could only describe as terrifying and apocalyptic. The song seems to be read as someone attempting to cope with the woes of the world, particularly those of war, and failing to do so as their mind unravels in total chaos and trauma. The song mentions the Port Arthur massacre, radiation contaminating civilians and their food, the execution of journalist Daniel Pearl, and U.S. intervention in foreign countries. One line sticks out as particularly grim and truly encapsulates the song, being “Another bomb for every atom you injure, meet the Devil with extended ring finger, saying “thou shalt not kill,” but I’m damned if I don’t, so I’m thinking I will.”
There is also the heart-crushing track “I’m Here Now,” which seemingly details a distinctly hard breakup with constant doubt throughout the song as to whether things will get better. If not listened to passively, one should pick up on the true nature of the song, but if they don’t, it makes sure to deliver a blunt realization with the line “I never understood, although you tried, you tried to explain while you were alive, what had turned the face I’d loved into a stranger’s,” making complete sense of the song’s hook “You’ve gone from perfect to divine.” This song, while clearly being about the loss of a lover, could more specifically be about Liddiard’s own loss after his girlfriend had taken her life in his car by intentionally overdosing on heroin, a traumatizing event he has referenced a few times throughout the band’s discography.
Though these two stand out, this album is chock full of stunning tracks. Some other standouts include “Words From The Executioner To Alexander Pearce,” a song which explores the thoughts and emotions from the point of view of the executioner who hanged Alexander Pearce, an escaped convict who allegedly had cannibalized multiple men. Immediately after is “I Don’t Ever Want To Change,” an unusually upbeat song which details a story about a store owner who deliberately burns down his own shop to collect insurance money. Then there’s “I Looked Down The Line And I Wondered,” a simple yet effective song about trying to find one’s purpose in life which is in part inspired by Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s gospel song of the same name.
The album ends with the near 10-minute song “Sixteen Straws,” which tells the story of a group of Catholic convicts who intend to escape their barbaric prison by committing murder, taking responsibility collectively and escaping while being transported to another facility to be sentenced to death. This story is most likely inspired by a recounting of events in the book “The Fatal Shore” by Robert Hughes, which details the history of early British colonialism in Australia with a focus on their convict transportation system. The song itself has the instrumental take somewhat of a backseat, with the primary focus being the story. Without giving away the finer details of the story, it makes an enthralling tale to cap this album off with, though it makes sure to not shy away from the depressive themes that it had carried up till this point.
Gala Mill was released to heavy acclaim, and it is easy to see why. It is biting, intense, thought-provoking and poetic all at once. It stands out not just in The Drones’ discography but in Australian music and blues rock as a whole. It is an album that despite having an older rustic sound manages to remain timeless in its themes and lyricism, existing in its own space spanning throughout the past and the present and therefore remaining constantly relevant in regards not just to its political critiques, but also to its dissection of human nature and its faults.
Rating: 9/10
