Third album, in 2013, Black Dog Barking finds Airbourne exactly where we left them: foot on the accelerator, cap screwed on tight and AC/DC as their compass. The Australian band does not change a winning formula, and offers a fresh volley of high-decibel hard rock. While the loyalty to its principles remains total, this record also marks the moment when the question of wear and tear gently begins to arise for a recipe that is now very familiar.
The recipe, again and again
Nothing new under the Warrnambool sun: square riffs, fast tempos, singalong choruses and Joel O’Keeffe’s rasping voice. Tracks like Live It Up, Ready to Rock or No One Fits Me (Better Than You) run through the festive hard-rock spec sheet diligently. The band does what it knows how to do, never straying, with the assurance of those who know their audience by heart. It is tight, effective, built for the stage, and perfectly in line with what one expects from Airbourne.
A few sparks
Here and there, the record fires off genuinely good moments, unifying choruses and surges of energy that hit home. The clean, muscular production shows off the power of the rhythm section and the bite of the guitars. When it clicks, Airbourne remains fearsomely effective, able to turn three chords into a festival anthem. These peaks remind us why the band made a name for itself, even if the record struggles to string them together across its full length.
The ceiling appears
The downside is a slight sense of autopilot. By never changing anything, Airbourne begins to give the impression of going in circles, and Black Dog Barking is often seen as a notch below its two predecessors. The formula still works, but its returns dip a little, and the demanding listener may find the going occasionally slow. It is the record where consistency, until now a strength, shows its limits for the first time.
Black Dog Barking is an honest, effective album that is starting to smell of repetition. It has enough to satisfy the fans, without convincing the sceptics or widening the circle. Airbourne stays true to itself, for better and for less good: the energy is intact, but the surprise has completely vanished. A mid-career record, solid but dispensable, that called for a slight jolt for what came next.
