Peter Bibby
Drama King
(Spinning Top Records)
3/5
Drama King—the fourth album from Australian indie-rock artist Peter Bibby—is excruciatingly mediocre, as the good songs don’t make up for the bad ones.
The first four songs on the album are a slow buildup of tension to “Baby Squid,” a track that puts you into the less-than-sober state where Bibby spent much of his adulthood, apart from the last year. The song marks a tonal change in the album—while the first half is drunken, the second half is self reflective, and this song is in between it all, showcasing thoughts and an overall headspace that feel like recovering from a hangover.
However, while there’s a buildup that promises something, the payoff to the growing tension doesn’t quite live up to what the album is trying to be. While there are a few songs here that sound nice and are worth a listen, it’s just not as emotional as Bibby thinks; Drama King is unable to keep me engaged through the length of the album.