The heaters on full blast can barely keep the extremities warm down here at the southern-most outpost of Backseat Mafia, but news of a new album by one of our favourites, Blackbirds F.C., has provided a warm and comforting ray of warmth. ‘Desire Lines’ is the band’s third album – their second ‘Magiclands’ being enthusisatically reviewed by us back in 2022.
This news follows the release of three enticing singles as tempting amuse bouches (‘What’s The Half Life of Loving You‘, ‘Lake of Stars‘ and ‘Rings Around The Sun‘). Songwriter Jeremy Gronow, a fa of homegrown Australian artists, says of the new album:
This is a record that is unashamedly local in its perspective and sound. We don’t mean that in a jingoistic way; it’s just an acknowledgement of who we are and where we come from musically. We’ve always tried to have a strong sense of place in our music.
Lyrically, the record talks about love (mainly gone wrong), politics (also going wrong), and the young and the future (could go either way…). The vocals were especially influenced by the work of CSNY, The Beach Boys’ Smiley Smile and R.E.M. Gronow says:
We tried more stacked harmonies and also explored how we could use the voices as another instrumental line or texture.
Sonically, Desire Lines displays a shift in the sound of Blackbirds FC. moving away from an alt country sound to something more New Wave and indie. Gronow explains.
On our previous records, the songs always began with a bed track of acoustic guitar, but for ‘Desire Lines’, I switched to electric after missing the sustain and punch. This minor change shifted the band from our usual folk/alt-country vibe into more rock and roll territory. Suddenly, guitarist Jeff Baker and I had to think about how to complement each other and develop a new way of playing together, which was really exciting to do.
Based on the initial three singles, this is going to be fertile new grounds for the band.
The album title is a reference to the informal, unplanned physical pathways that people create despite the efforts of designers. These lines typically cut across a planned route or area because they are a more to a more convenient or direct way to get where people want to go.
We liked the rebelliousness of people ignoring the expert’s plan and going where they want. It reflects how we wanted to forget about genre or style and try to let the songs go where they wanted. Going against the plan is the whole point of a Desire Line.
Out on 11 July, you can pre-order the album here:
Blackbirds F.C. (featuring members of The Hollowmen, Helvelln, The Vandas, The Golden Rail and Flicker) will be launching the album with a series of gigs in Victoria:
Saturday, 19 July
George Lane, St Kilda VIC
w/ Penny Hewson Band
Tickets
Saturday, 30 August
The Taproom Shedshakers Brewery, Castlemaine VIC
w/ Cold Irons Bound
Saturday, 13 December
Mind Your Langridge @ Yorkshire Stingo Hotel, Collingwood VIC
