Naarm/Melbourne band Blackbirds F.C. are purveyors of the most sublime jingle jangle indie pop and they are back with a new single, ‘Lake of Stars’, which we are proud to premiere today.
‘Lake of Stars’ is off the band’s forthcoming third album. The guitars are crystalline and knife-sharp with the harmonised vocals coasting over the driving beat and weeping strings. The result is something that is as expansive as the blue skies over the outback, painting a vivid lyrical picture that captures the geography with images as sharp as that captured by a high resolution camera:
The lake will feed your soul, hide and comfort you
And send you back to where you’re going to
I hope you find me there, calling to the sky
Let the wild winds blow my loving back to you
From the Lake of Stars
It’s evocative, immersive track with a sense of deep yearning, giving it a melancholic hue. There is the narrative depth and expression of Springsteen mixed with an antipodean flavour, drawing in bands such as The Triffids or Goanna. Songwriter Jeremy Gronow says of the track:
The name came from a music festival an old friend was involved with in Malawi called the Lake of Stars Festival. I always loved the name so I decided to write about that.
I did some reading and found out that lake was really known as Lake Nyasa and was at the end of the East African Rift Valley between Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi in an area called The Handle. And so the Lake of Stars became the setting for a song about travelling and longing for a person left behind.
Lake Nyasa (aka Lake Malawi) was called the Lake of Stars by Scottish explorer and missionary Dr Livingstone. He happened upon the lake at night and thought the lanterns on the fishing boats looked like stars in the night sky. Anyway, it seemed like a very romantic and intriguing place and the lake seemed like a good place for the song’s protagonist to find himself and gain clarity about the girl left behind.
These are beautiful sentiments for a beautiful track.
Back of the net. ‘Lake of Stars’ is out tomorrow and will be available through the usual download and streaming sites.
The band will be launching the single in Melbourne – details below.
Blackbirds FC, ‘Lake Of Stars’ Single Launch
George Lane, St Kilda
Saturday August 10th @ 3PM
w/ Cold Irons Bound
