'The Alligator Festival' LP

The sophomore release from Australia’s heavy groove maestros The Meaning Of (2008)

Tracklisting:
1. Sideshow Attraction
2. Doing Life
3. My Warm Lover
4. Morning Glory (Flow)
5. Jonathan Plum
6. March Of The Humans
7. For You
8. Intanoodle
9. You Are You And Me Is Me
10. The Alligator Festival
11. There Was No Green Light
12. One Person
13. The World Got In The Way
14. Art Of Persuasion
15. When I Wake Up Everything Will Be The Way It Was

Recorded by Adam Spark (Birds Of Tokyo) and mixed by Forrester Savell (Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, Mammal)

After an extended wait, The Meaning Of have finally released the follow-up to their What’s Your Excuse? album, and the boys have made sure it’s as tight and polished as it should be. Far more beat and hip hop-driven than their previous work, The Meaning Of have made The Alligator Festival more akin to their live show, which is traditionally an exercise in making people dance. That said, the incorporation of more advanced hip hop elements is done seamlessly, helping translate these new ideas for us guitar boofheads. The production is fat, the songs more personal, and the distance from nu metal greater than ever before… so it looks very much like The Meaning Of have been mindful of keeping their music fresh and innovative, without relying on either their history or what is currently in vogue to do so. Knowing they would have to pull out something special to justify the wait, The Meaning Of’s fastidiousness and predilection for perfectionism has paid off in a complex but rewarding album.
Mike Wafer, X-PRESS MAGAZINE

Local art-metal veterans The Meaning Of have a great knack for constructing complex and progressive arrangements while, for the most part, being able to keep them succinct and within the easily digestible confines of a rock song. Vocalist Mike Sukys possesses an awesome talent for creating memorable melodies over this sonic bedlam. And with this record, he's also brought his "runaway libido" in the very horny but massively powerful Morning Glory (Flow). Jonathan Plum sees Sukys adopting an Anthony Keidis-like rap, while You Are You and Me Is Me gives him a chance to vent his anti-religion sentiments. But his previously dormant comedic talents aired in the very crude but nonetheless hilarious Intanoodle are the biggest suprise. Brother Pete Sukys alternately provides beautifully soothing guitar tones along with plenty of head-cracking crunch. With didgeridoo player Raz Hansen providing textures not heard elsewhere in the metal world, this disc continues to get better with every listen
Phil Jupp, The West Australian 4/5