Last year’s self-titled EP by the dream collaboration that is Mess Esque was a stunning release last year: we said it was an ethereal, gentle delight: yearning brittle and delicate vocals that glide over subtle but barely restrained instrumentation that adds a gold filigree to a barbed wire brush. It has the raw and visceral edge of Velvet Underground mixed with a dream pop blur.
Mess Esque is Mick Turner, guitarist from the legendary The Dirty Three and Helen Franzmann from Brisbane band McKisko. Mess Esque creates a certain unrestrained order and quietude underpinned by a tamed wildness that seethes and burns underneath. The result is something mesmerising while burning white hot with a blinding intensity.
Mess Esque have announced a series of gigs across Australia in May before heading to the US, where they’ll do a few weeks of shows off the back of being invited to play Wilco’s Solid Sound festival. Their Australian itinerary is as follows:
Thu 5th May – Caravan Club, Archies Creek – TIX
Fri 6th May – Lighthouse Arts Collective, Pt Lonsdale (with Lucie Thorne) – TIX
Sun 8th May – NSC, Northcote, VIC (with Sweet Whirl & Palm Springs) – TIX
Wed 11th May – The Gov, Adelaide (opening for Ed Kuepper with Jim White) –TIX
Fri 13th May – The Great Club, Sydney (with Fabels & Darren Cross) – TIX
(New show) Sun 13th May – The Cave Inn, Woolloongabba (with Feeding Fauna) – TIX
The EP is out now through Drag City Records (in the northern hemisphere) and Milk! Records in Australia and available through the link below and all the usual streaming sites.
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