Nature / Nurture

Melbourne punks Clowns have never been ones to conform. The 5-piece started life in 2010 as a more-or-less straightforward hardcore punk act, but over the course of their first three albums 2013's I'm Not Right, 2015's Bad Blood and 2017's Lucid Again they were steadily evolving and mutating their sound in whatever direction they felt like. It was always loud, but it became both more nuanced and more off-kilter. New record Nature/Nurture sees the band continuing down that snaking path it's 11 songs swerving right and left abruptly and unexpectedly, veering from frantic punk to slower, more nuanced and psychedelic-tinged rock.