robyn hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock opening with the seminal ”I Often Dream of Trains” at The Tote in Melbourne
It was up there with the greatest set opener i’ve ever witnessed…hair on the back-of-the-neck stuff.

The Prize
They’ve got the looks, they’ve got the songs and they’ve got Nadine. Oh boy! Debut album drops around March.

The Saints
The double whammy of the superb box set and the shows was a 1-2 of the highest order.

The Mad Max Parade of Intercepors and other related vehicles down the main street of Clunes
It was mind-blowing. No Mel Gibson, though.

The Church
The “Already Yesterday” shows were amazing to hear all those early classics. If only Richard Ploog could have shown up.

Celebrating Ronald Brown’s birthday at Radio Birdman’s Croxton gig
A ripper. My third time witnessing Radio Birdmanand the distortion attack had given way to a far more melodic approach - and I,  for one, appreciated it more. Go figure.

Get Old – The Holy Soul (self released)

There’s undoubtedly some self-effacing irony in the title of the fourth long-player by Sydney veterans The Holy Soul. Ageing is an inevitability and these guys (and gal) have been around since the early 2000s, coalescing in a shed in the suburban outskirts before establishing a base in the creative oasis of the inner-west.

Since then they’ve collaborated with the likes of Damo Suzuki (Can), David Thomas (Pere Ubu)and Robyn Hitchcock (The Soft Boys), the latter an adopted Aussie who produced this while on one of his extended stays in Sydney.

“Get Old” contains The Holy Soul’s trademark interlocking guitars and throbbing rhythm section, and typically dodges easy categorisation. There’s a touch of jangle, some bluesy swagger and a large slice of glam.

_{Murray Bennett photo.}

Made it through an intense year of behind-the-scenes, hatchet job betrayal, on constant alert with old stuff anxiety kicking in and an ADHD burn-out that sent me to a dark and desperate place. 

But despite all the amputations, my life was saved by Rock ‘n’ Roll….

1. The Cruel Sea
Made a new album with The Cruel Sea. Recorded in three days in a tin shed during a brutal Melbourne heatwave. A bunch of songs we barely knew and nearly all first takes with minimal overdubs and quick mixes. Relied on our old wits and it sounds pretty damn good! 

2. Robyn Hitchcock
Spent time with my dear friend Robyn Hitchcock as we both navigated dark waters, then played a wonderful show at The Great Club in Sydney with Samand Davey and Katethat steered us straight, and we stayed up grooving on my back deck until the birds and the garbage trucks joined us.