Cable Ties reach new heights with All Her Plans

The band move fluidly from sculpted accompaniments to expressive jams. The result is a set that brims with sonic fury, winning melodies, and wry cultural critiques.

“Crashing Through” launches with Nick Brown’s ebullient bass part and Shauna Boyle’s primitivistic yet adrenalized drums. Guitarist and singer Jenny McKechnie’s vocal oscillates between a drawl and a howl, her melody complemented by strums, semi-riffs, and catchy runs. The song exemplifies Cable Ties’ broadening range, their ability to channel a bipolar orientation, replete with exhilaration and panic, into a pop-adherent context.

On “Thoughts Back”, guitar lines and staccato accents interweave with a nomadic bass part. “You stand as tall as you want to be”, McKechnie sings, giving herself a pep talk. “Time for You”, meanwhile, finds McKechnie lamenting that she has no time for much of anything; however, veering toward the anthemic (and the punk version of earnest), she concludes, “but I’ve got time for you.”

“Too Late,” with its alternately droll and volatile vocals, may remind some listeners of recent Screaming Females. The band create and sustain tensions, segueing from the almost-gossamer to full-out sonic assaults. While Cable Ties have consistently displayed ambition in terms of instrumentation, with All Her Plans they more seamlessly absorb prog and avant templates, reconfiguring them to work within a punk setting.

“Keep on privatizing”, McKechnie snarls on “Silos”, empathizing with victims of the medical complex while lambasting politicians and bureaucrats. “Perfect Client” merges urgent vocals, sizzling guitars, and shifting rhythms, offering a seething op-ed on the mental-health industry. “My mother’s stories are different and the same”, McKechnie declares on “Change”, speaking to the perennial nature of discrimination. Her serrated guitar roils in the background as Brown’s bass thumps defiantly. While Cable Ties’ previous release, 2020’s Far Enough, included its share of sociopolitical commentaries, the rants here are more focused and savagely delivered.

The album closes with “Deep Breath Out”, a tribute to a sibling who suffers from addictive and delusional tendencies. Opening with a mix of chorus-dabbed chords and supple bass pivots, the tune is carried by McKechnie’s heartfelt vocal. Nearing closure, the song grows more tension-filled as McKechnie reflects on the relationship and the precariousness of the situation.

With All Her Plans, Cable Ties interweave descriptive lyrics, a knack for melody, and instrumentation that, while grounded in the punk playbook, also accommodates the trio’s diverse musical interests. All Her Plans spotlights the Melbourne-based band as they reach new heights, exuding love, indignation, and indomitability, the essentials of “conscious” punk circa 2023.