Fowl Weather Vein – Fowl Weather Vein (Vi-Nil Records)
The years 1978-82 produced the greatest explosion of music in the last century. Only the mid to late 1960s rivals it. Some called it New Wave, others came up with Post-Punk.
Record companies were opening cheque books as fast as new labels arrived and there was the buzz of a DIY ethos. More importantly though, the period produced an artistic tidal wave surfed by one-hit wonders and more enduring artists whose music careers have continued for decades.
Consider the massive diversity of a crop that included Wire, Echo and The Bunnymen, Pere Ubu, The Fall, The Pop Group, XTC, The Cure, The Jam, Siouxie and The Banshees, Joy Division, Talking Heads, Blondie, Psychedelic Furs, Gang of Four. There was also the rise of Ska. There were was no single blueprint or style, just an explosion of creativity.
In Australia in 1980, there were a few punk bands. It really was a small scene. When post-punk arrived, it really exploded. That’s where Fowl Weather Vein is deeply rooted.
I never saw their forerunner, Trench Gashes. At the time there were so many bands, and so many gigs. Fowl Weather Vein's principal songwriter, Paul Simpson, was their singer and founder.
Fowl Weather Vein arrived before Covid and have had a stop-start existence. The band has changed line-ups but finally seems settled with Paul Berwick (ex-Happy Hate Me Nots) on guitar and Keith Claingbold (a veteran of many bands) on bass. Keyboard player Paul Timming and drummer Mark Nicolson are the other members on this debut CD.
“Details Escape Us” opens proceedings with an urban vibe of late nights and a touch of funk. “Nothing We Could Do But Wince” has an edgy garage-meets-post-punk sound, with some intriguing lyrical excursions. Berwick’s creative, choppy guitar-work and wah-wah accents are a stand-out. The rhythm section is tight with Nicholson and Claringbold locking solidly into the groove.
“Pirouette” is where the album really takes off with the slicing, eerie, guitar of Berwick summoning dark and furious tones.. The mood is dark with layered atmospherics and a lyrical monologue that flows so well.
“Tzatziki Fingers” is like a musical lightning rod; it’s fast, furiously tight and sonically satisfying. The song is a killer, with Paul Simpson’s vocal transforming it into a machine gun blitz.
“Cheap Wine” is as far away from the Cold Chisel radio chant as is possible. It’s an album highlight that features a pop sensibility, with a nod to “Doughboy Hollow” era Died Pretty. Brilliant guitar lines by Berwick and some well-placed Claringbold bass-lines allow some terrific hooks to come to the fore, with great keyboards and vocals from Paul Simpson.
The tribal drumming and swampy guitar of “The Fire Will Remain” recalls the voodoo moments of The Scientists and Gun Club. It’s an ode to the US Deep South with a moody ambience that makes it one of the killer tracks on this album. Credit here again to the dark vocal monologue and Paul Berwick’s guitars.
Just when you think you have this band pinned, “Black Rose for Maria” heads into the spooky, Gothic territory of people like Alice Cooper at his darkest. You might liken Fowl Weather Vein to a gang of terrorists armed with Iron Maiden’s metal overtones on this one. “The Fastest Colour Since Red” is another sonic blitzkrieg ,with equal elements of coolness and derangement.
There are some absolute killer tracks here, full of moodiness and sonic detours. The playing is great and there’s some stunning guitar from Paul Berwick.
This album belongs on vinyl. The concept of putting 50 minutes of music on a CDs is now in the dustbin of the ‘90s because it usually results in a few weaker songs being thrown in. There’s a little of that at play here, with a few ideas that seem to repeat. If this album was less then 40 minutes it would have been a power punch.
Still, It captures that time and a spirit of creative freedom with so many ideas. A time when every week another killer single was released and sounded so fresh. - Ed Garland
1/2
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. - The Barman
1/4
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