jjsings
I find this album more melacholy than some of their others, but maybe its because of when I first listened to it. The lucksmiths songs are like sponges for emotions.
Tali White – vocals, drums, electric piano, melodica, percussion
Marty Donald – acoustic and electric guitars, glockenspiel, vocals
Mark Monnone – bass guitar, electric and acoustic and 12-string
guitars, vocals
with...
Darren Hanlon – electric guitar, electric piano, organ, banjo,
harmonica
Kellie Sutherland – vocals
Richard Ogier-Herbert – piano
Kate Dullard – clarinet, bass clarinet
Craig Pilkington – trumpet, flügelhorn, mandolin
Jen Anderson – violin; Liz Duffy – violin
Jason Bunn – viola
Mal Pinkerton – cello
String arrangements by Craig Pilkington.
Produced, recorded and mixed by Craig Pilkington at Audrey Studios, Richmond, summer 2000-01.
Tracks 3 and 8 mixed by Craig Pilkington and David Badrick.
Mastered by David Briggs at the Production Workshop
Mastered for vinyl by Craig Pilkington
Dragons by Alex Jack
Photos by Glenn Morris
As 2021 stumbles sheepishly over the finish line, so too the twentieth anniversary of The Lucksmiths’ watershed album of 2001, Why That Doesn’t Surprise Me. Lost And Lonesome and Matinée Recordings are excited they didn’t completely overlook this momentous milestone and invite you to celebrate now with a repressing of the long out-of-print vinyl LP, officially released January 18, 2022 – on sumptuous turquoise vinyl to boot!
Hear all the classics you know and love, artisanally crafted for you way back when by messrs Donald, White and Monnone (that’s Marty, Tali and Mark to you, friend), spinning gloriously from your record player!
‘Synchronised Sinking’ – check; ‘Broken Bones’ – check; ‘The Year of Driving Languorously’ – check. Yep, this is a good one. You got 'Music to Hold Hands to’ and ‘Self Preservation’ and ‘The Great Dividing Range’ too. It’s all here on one gorgeous record, handsomely adorned in Alex Jack’s cheeky ‘dragon bum warmer’ cover art.
Why That Doesn’t Surprise Me (their fifth ‘studio’ album) represented a turning point for The Lucksmiths, as the Melbourne band took their humble three-piece set-up into a legit recording studio for the first time and set to work with producer Craig Pilkington on exploring uncharted dynamic and tonal possibilities through the use of extra instrumentation and lush orchestral augmentation.
Indeed, this was to be the first of three albums The Lucksmiths recorded at Pilkington’s Audrey Studios; 2003’s Naturaliste and 2005’s Warmer Corners round out the trifecta which is often regarded as a golden period in Lucksmiths lore.
Amongst the extra instrumentation we can hear Darren Hanlon deftly jangling some joyous lead guitar. A longtime touring companion of The Lucksmiths, with his band The Simpletons, Hanlon had just released his first solo EP Early Days when he was invited to lend a hand and effectively became “the fourth Lucksmith” – a role he eventually relinquished to focus purely on his own songwriting, with top-notch results.
Also in there, we can hear the sweet vocals of a young pre-Architecture in Helsinki Kellie Sutherland who, as well as lending backing vocals to several songs, sings a show-stopping duet with Tali on the captivating ‘How to Tie a Tie’.
Originally released in 2001 by several iconic indie labels of the day – Candle Records (Aus), Drive-In Records (US), Fortuna Pop! (UK) and Clover (Japan) – the album has been out of print on vinyl for decades. To celebrate the platinum anniversary, the new release is available on classic black and limited edition turquoise wax.
Drop the needle on this charmer – it’s time to fall in love all over again!
"I apologize to all Lucksmiths fans for making strides to out their greatness. The band is simply worthy of the myriad cappuccino cups of mouth foam that their rabid following has bestowed. I'll risk all-out exploitation, by deeming them worthy of even a larger fanbase, even though their sixth (proper) album, Why That Doesn't Surprise Me, isn't much of a departure for them, or music in general. Bands like Felt, Field Mice, and, most recently, Belle and Sebastian have forged, realized, and revisited the sunny terrain of twee guitar-pop that the Lucksmiths play on. The band is utterly content in presenting simple, catchy love songs that make no waves to innovate. And that's fine, because they're damn good at it."
supported by 23 fans who also own “Why That Doesn't Surprise Me”
I found this one by some chance I can't remember. It was the perfect soundtrack for the humid summer nights I spent in a place where I used to live. miatan
A fantastic synthpop EP from Haleluya Hailu that pairs delightfully fizzy instrumentation with gorgeous vocal melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 5, 2021
Elizabeth Morris of Allo Darlin’ returns with a new group! “Winter Sun” is a tender blend of pastoral folk and diary-like lyrics. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 8, 2019
supported by 19 fans who also own “Why That Doesn't Surprise Me”
Remember how Bill Murray woke up to I Got You Babe every day in Groundhog Day? If that song would have been Made Of Moods, he at the very least experienced three and a half perfect minutes each day. It’s one of those songs that I enjoy each and every second of, with it’s jangly guitars and hushed vocals that almost have a Beach Boys vibe, especially in the verse. Truly, it’s a song for the ages. But the best news about Still Life is that it offers eleven additional underground pop gems. Niek || Add To Wantlist