Stumps - All Our Friends album review

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"All Our Friends is a retro-tinged indie-rock epic with equal parts heart and spirit, and plenty of both to share."

Stumps
(Image credit: Supplied)

STUMPS
All Our Friends
COOKING VINYL

Driven by slick and summery, ultra‑jangly guitar leads, shimmery synths and soulful vocal hooks that belt far beyond the foreground, Stumps have rung a dismal year out with a well‑earned dose of over-the-top ebullience. 

Even in its most reflective points (like the aptly gloomy “2020”), the Sydney trio make it hard not to have toes tapping or shoulders swaying – and when they kick into full force on power-pop epics like “I’ve Had Enough” and “Daffodils”, dancing in your seat like a total maniac is absolutely mandatory.

Of course, we’d be remiss not to note how candidly earnest the record is beneath its bouncy, bombastic veneer – All Our Friends is a retro-tinged indie-rock epic with equal parts heart and spirit, and plenty of both to share. 

Ellie Robinson
Ellie Robinson
Editor-at-Large, Australian Guitar Magazine

Ellie Robinson is an Australian writer, editor and dog enthusiast with a keen ear for pop-rock and a keen tongue for actual Pop Rocks. Her bylines include music rag staples like NME, BLUNT, Mixdown and, of course, Australian Guitar (where she also serves as Editor-at-Large), but also less expected fare like TV Soap and Snowboarding Australia. Her go-to guitar is a Fender Player Tele, which, controversially, she only picked up after she'd joined the team at Australian Guitar. Before then, Ellie was a keyboardist – thankfully, the AG crew helped her see the light…