News Archive
- Popboomerang Rarities Collection
- Popboomerang Xmas Party
- Polished pop like Pulp says All Music
- Sophisticated pop melody overdose! says PopMatters
- Out-radiates Radiohead! says Popism
- The Cure For The Cure release date set
- A Major Keeper! says Not Lame
- Melodies are excellent, highly recommended says Powerpopaholic
- A great sound, great band! says Jam Recordings
- Splurge signs with Popboomerang
Popboomerang Rarities Collection • Bonus Downloads
Electric & Eclectic Rarities CD Launch • Saturday 30 April • $10 Entry Includes CD • Splurge!
April 2011 | Splurge are on the bill for Popboomerang Records Electric & Eclectic Rarities CD Launch at The Workers Club, cnr Brunswick and Gertrude Streets, Fitzroy, on Saturday 30 April. An unreleased track from The Cure For The Cure - When I’m Down - is one of 20 tracks featured on the CD. Listen or buy the track here...
Performing live at the launch along with Splurge are Celadore, The Bon Scotts, The Underminers and Adrian Whitehead. $10 entry includes a CD. Electric & Eclectic Rarities features 20 rare or unreleased songs from these artists and others from the Popboomerang roster including Skipping Girl Vinegar, The Aerial Maps, Four Hours Sleep, Young Werther, The Steinbecks, D.Rogers, Bryan Estepa and more...
UPDATE April 2012 | This album is now a free download. Purchase the CD for $7 or download the compilation here...
TOPPopboomerang Xmas Party • Killer lineup • Gold coin donation label fundraiser • X Rated?
December 2010 | Greg is doing a solo set at the Popboomerang Xmas Party at the Cornish Arms on Friday 17 December at 8:00pm. First solo gig in three years - no pressure!
The poster tells the story... or check out Popboomerang for more info...
Here's the blurb...
It's way too late in the year to be good so give up the fight and get down to the Popboomerang Records Christmas party at The Cornish Arms on Friday December 17.
The night will feature DJ sets and live appearances from Greg Williams (Splurge), along with label mates Underminers (duo), Courtney Barnett, D.Rogers, Georgia Fields (solo) & The Bon Scotts.
Admission is free (with gold coin donation good karma as a label fundraiser) Popboomerang are planning special giveaways, raffles & merchandise items. So lock in this date & block out ALL other offers and let Popboomerang kick-start your Christmas cheer.
Polished pop like Pulp says All Music
by Jason MacNeil
January 2008 | Australian band Splurge often have a lot in common with British band Pulp in terms of their presentation and sound, especially with the highbrow, textured, and terribly pretty opener When I Go To Sleep. Here singer Greg Williams sounds more like Neil Finn then he does Jarvis Cocker, but it's nonetheless an extremely polished piece of pop.
From there, Splurge opts for a meaty, thicker rock sound à la Travis or the Charlatans during Crystalline with its subtle electronic traces. When the singer slows things down with the exquisite, radio-friendly She’s Not The One, artists like Richard Ashcroft and Echo & the Bunnymen instantly come to the fore. And the ensuing power pop of I Don’t Feel It only heightens the album's quality.
The consistency of the album is its biggest selling point as the crunchy Too Much Is Not Enough becomes the second greatest song with that title after the Tom Petty track. Unfortunately the first overt clunker is Get Up And Watch TV which Williams should have done instead of recording this pale, boring Smash Mouth-like number.
The band pick themselves up again with a formulaic, safe but steady Hey Children which works on several levels. The title track is a bit peculiar with its folksy, singer/songwriter, Beatles-lite feel yet still manages to make its mark.
Sophisticated pop melody overdose! says PopMatters
11 October 2007 | Melbourne’s Splurge doesn’t splurge so much on big guitar riffs or over-the-top vocals. What they do overdose on is sophisticated pop melodies that have the listener’s attention from the onset.
Whether it’s the gorgeous When I Go To Sleep with its Crowded House aura and lovable high harmonies or the moodier Crystalline that has a bit more bark or bite to it, Splurge seem to hit the mark more often than not. Things reach a greater level of quality with She’s Not The One that brings classic Echo & The Bunnymen to mind.
Lead singer Greg Williams and guitarist Neville Hill weave some magic again during the slow-building gem Beautiful which lives up to its title over the course of nearly five minutes. Mixing a cross between the best of ‘90s Brit-pop with a decent batch of ‘80s stalwarts, Splurge once again shine on Hey Children and the equally pretty Is That You with its meandering, trippy, retro segments.
There’s also a certain Lennon-feel on the closing title track which makes this album a winner.
Out-radiates Radiohead! says Popism
1 June 2007 | Here’s what they said: Even though I’ve never had a chance to hear any of their first two albums, I realize that they were described, by no less than MOJO magazine, as a song-packing Melbourne four-piece that rocks, plays it gentle and delivers the hooks, with the ghost of Lennon pervading some of the tracks.
I’m not sure about what they've beein doing up until now, but with their third outing, they sure do all of the above mentioned, and with an obvious commercial touch to it as well, which might gain them an even bigger international exposure.
The things is, that whoever comes to mind as an audiable reference point, Splurge seems to be doing it in kind of a more sophisticated-or-eclectic-or-brainy way, as heard from the opening When I Go To Sleep or Beautiful, which both out-radiate Radiohead's greatest Bends/Computer era ballads, or Crystalline which isn’t too unlike The Beatles-through-Verve, or as someone has already said, “Liam with a brain”.
My own favourites are the ones that make another pair of obvious Beatlisms, with Numb being put through an even more FABulous sound of their Scottish soulmates The Diggers, and the second one is the slightlydelic, almost hip-hop-by-way-of-Beck sounding Get Up And Watch TV.
I’m not sure about the cure itself, but this might as well serve as a cure as good as any, for the upcoming long sunny afternoons.
(Webmaster: or to warm up a cold Melbourne winter!)
The Cure For The Cure release date set
22 May 2007 | Melbourne independent label Popboomerang is to release Splurge’s new album The Cure For The Cure on 21 July through MGM.
A Major Keeper! says Not Lame
2 April 2007 | Here’s what they said: Australian import and what a release!
An immensely mature outing that is filled with 11 perfect songs, all extremely well written with a careful eye to not only detail, but the emotional current running underneath every note and lyric.
Much of this album reminds me of Radiohead “The Bends”, classic early Oasis and the rock side of the Brit-pop sound from the mid 90s and even some Tears For Fears.
This is an album from ‘note #1’ that impressed here at Not Lame and in the span of one solid day has received three complete play-through listens already. A Major Keeper!!
Order from Not Lame...Melodies are excellent, highly recommended says Powerpopaholic
29 May 2007 | Splurge are a pop-folk-rock group from Australia with a laid back approach. They are a little hard to pin down as far as category actually. They have mid-tempo beats and steady rhythm guitars with melodic wailing vocals.
The opener When I Go To Sleep is a bit like Coldplay meets Aztec Camera. She’s Not The One is another good song doing an Echo & The Bunnymen vibe with some synth and guitar. Sometimes the laid back guitar works well - the song Beautiful is better than any James Blunt trash. Greg Williams vocals do a serviceable job, but sometimes a bit too breathy for me.
Too Much Is Not Enough is one of the few great rockers here, and the entire album could have used more of this. Several songs toward the end of the album, drift along on a lazy psychedelic vibe and at over four minutes for each track, could put you to sleep. (Webmaster: or alter your state!)
The exception is Numb a nice Pulp-styled ballad with dramatic flair. Also the title track The Cure For The Cure is a good track too, if a bit overindulgent. Overall the melodies are excellent, and this is a highly recommended CD.
A great sound, great band! says Jam Recordings
May 2007 | New band from Australia on the ever reliable Popboomerang label! The band has a great sound in cahoots with Dodgy, Oasis, Travis, Radiohead, in short..they sound like the post wave 2nd British invasion which peaked during the mid 90s. A great sound, great band, and highly recommended to all British power pop fans!
Splurge signs with Popboomerang
18 March 2007 | Popboomerang are excited to announce the signing of Melbourne band Splurge whose new album The Cure For The Cure is available now through Popboomerang. Splurge is the brainchild of Greg Williams, whose songs have been likened to those by Grant Mclennan of the Go Betweens & Steve Kilbey of the Church.
Pick up the album direct from the band for $A20 (plus postage) with our secure PayPal Shopping Cart. Pay by credit card or PayPal account. Or mail order from Popboomerang (cheque or money order). For more about these and other purchase options read on...
