When The Murlocs first began working on their new LP Calm Ya Farm, the Melbourne-based band had visions of creating a quintessential country-rock record: a collection of sublimely mellowed-out songs inspired by iconic albums like The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo and the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. But as those songs absorbed the distinct sensibilities of each member (lead singer/guitarist/harmonica player Ambrose Kenny-Smith, guitarist Callum Shortal, drummer Matt Blach, bassist Cook Craig, keyboardist Tim Karmouche), the band’s seventh full-length soon took on its own unruly character. Spiked with The Murlocs’ signature breed of sharply crafted garage-punk—and with Kenny-Smith’s surrealist lyrical musings—Calm Ya Farm twists country-rock convention into a free-flowing album fully in touch with the frenetic energy of modern life.

The latest in a series of creatively adventurous releases for The Murlocs, Calm Ya Farm follows the effervescent introspection of 2021’s Bittersweet Demons and the sonically heavy storytelling of 2022’s Rapscallion. With its glorious abundance of loose grooves and soul-soothing melodies, Calm Ya Farm achieved its sonic depth by creating space for all five members to pursue their most eccentric impulses. “It seems like we’re at a good peak at the moment, where we’re always sort of surprising ourselves with what we’re able to come up with,” says Kenny-Smith who also plays with Craig in the psych-rock powerhouse King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. “It feels like as we keep getting older and becoming closer as friends, we’re getting better and better at making music together.”