All Her Plans

Some folks get into punk rock because they just want to have fun making lots of noise, while others embrace it because they have something to say and it gives them a powerful and immediate platform for their ideas. Jenny McKechnie, the leader of Melbourne, Australias Cable Ties, clearly falls into the latter category, though on the bands third album, 2023s All Her Plans, she knows how to fill her songs with a fire and righteous fury that make her messages as exciting as they are thought-provoking. McKechnie and her bandmates (bassist Nick Brown and drummer Shauna Boyle) rock with a lean, muscular punch and wiry energy as the indefatigable stomp of the drums gives the guitar plenty of room to roar with crunchy abandon. The pleasure of this bands attack doesnt soften the impact of what they have to say, and McKechnie is not shy about mounting a soapbox when she sees fit. McKechnies struggles with mental health informed her songwriting on All Her Plans, and "Silos" is a powerful, harrowing broadside against privatized prisons and faulty mental health services that literally turn the most desperate patients into criminals, while "Perfect Client" offers an only more measured variation on this theme, and "Thoughts Back" allows us a look into a less than healthy internal dialogue. Not all the news on All Her Plans is bad: "Mums Caravan" is a subtly moving portrait of one woman struggling to protect her kids, "Time for You" acknowledges just how much of a difference the right amount of compassion can make, and the closer "Deep Breathe Out" acknowledges how important hope can be -- and how hard it is to pull off. All Her Plans doesnt shy away from heavy themes, and McKechnies vocals, which travel from measured to ferocious, meet strength with strength, as her bracing, elemental guitar, Boyles hard-stomping drums, and Browns elastic bass lines reflect the emotions of the lyrics and add an emotional power thats inspiring and commanding. All Her Plans isnt an album for folks looking for a playful, pop-punk experience, but its a brave, powerful record thats a reminder of how much punk rock can communicate with so few moving parts. ~ Mark Deming