Fowl Weather Vein – Fowl Weather Vein (Vi-Nil Records)
There’s a moody dynamic and tension in the playing that makes “Fowl Weather Vein” (by the Sydney band of the same name) compelling listening.
Stylistically speaking, the album’s no easy beast to pin down, despite the band’s fairly standard configuration of one guitar, keys drums and bass. It’s highly-strung and intense music that recalls Magazine or even Buzzcocks without the buzzsaw rush. But that's only half the story.
Is it punk rock? The closest thing to it is the frenetic “Tzatziki Fingers” which steams past in a touch over a minute-and-a-half. “The Fire Will Remain” has an echo of Goth while “What Can You Remember” is a rocker that’s alternately sprawling and then caustic. Is it post-punk? Lame tag with so many meanings, but it’ll do in lieu of anything better.
“Break My Spirit” rocks out on a synthesized horn section .The previously unrecorded Trench Gashes song, ”Black Rose For Maria”, shifts from brooding spaghetti western to Hawkwind-style space rocker in as much time as it takes to say Michael Moorcock.
Dirty Blues Rock, thy name is “The Fastest Colour Since Red” where some filthy slide guitar rules the roost. “Cheap Wine” (thankfully) has zilch to do with Barnesy. If you don’t count the Trench Gashes song, it’s the sole cover, a Green On Red ode to time slipping away.
Speaking of which, there’s a convoluted history behind Fowl Weather Vein (the band) that would do a Netflix mini-series scriptwriter proud. It dates back to its founding in Sydney in 2018 by Peter Katsoolis (Wildcat Tamers) bassist Des Hamilton, vocalist Paul Simpson, keyboardist Paul Timmins (both ex-Trench Gashes) and drummer Mark Nicholson (Vanilla Chainsaws).
Members departing and joining, stop-start recordings, Covid, and death (Des Hamilton perished in a paragliding accident the day before a fecordign session) led to a six-year lay-off, a false start and Covid before a reformation in 2025 around Simpson, Timmins and Nicholson.
Well-credentialled newcomers, Paul Berwick (ex-Happy Hate Me Nots) on guitar and Keith Claringbold (ex-Introverts, Amazing Woolloomooloosers) on bass completed the current line-up. Writing and new recordings resulted.
The album’s a mix of previously recorded tracks and the newies. By all accounts, Marc Scully performed some mixing and mastering miracles in rescuing the older material, and the finished product is a feather in the cap for him and his Studio 57.
What makes Fowl Weather Vein (the band and the album) special? It sounds cliched but both are a sum of their parts. The older material sounds a little muddy (understandable, when you know the backstory) Paul Simpson is a compelling frontman and his vocals draw you into some Dystopian realm where life is clearly unsettled. A lyric sheet would have been useful but some listens with decent headphones will remedy that.
The engine room of Nicholson and Claringbold locks in nicely, and it's a solid platform for Paul Timmins to build on with his piano and keyboard colourings. For mine, Paul Berwick is the secret weapon with some superb guitar, unbridled by the responsibility of fronting a band or writing most of the material.
