All India Radio have already signalled their much welcomed return to the airwaves with the single ‘Catch The Breeze’ released earlier this year (see my review here) and have just released another single ‘The Red Room’ ahead of the the new album ‘The Unified Field’.
As usual, the sound and visuals of All India Radio are a luscious and complex – Martin Kennedy’s meticulous devotion to the entire production of his releases results in something quite celestial.
‘The Red Room’ is spacious and airy like the soundtrack to a Sergio Leone movie, but set in deep space amongst the glittering stars. The guitars are crystalline shards, the bass an ambulant pulse throbbing throughout. Referencing the album title, a haunting spoken voice – the voice of David Lynch – interweaves amongst the sonic tendrils, encompassing Kennedy’s deep obsession with a sort of art deco science fiction: retro futurism expressed in the brightest colours.
Lynch’s presence is everywhere. Kennedy says:
‘The Red Room’ isn’t about complexity or polish — it’s about mood, intuition, and raw presence, my attempt to touch that same vital spark that Lynch always reached for.
The accompanying video by Red Tape Pictures and directed by Clint Lewis is openly a nod to David Lynch: drawing in the slight distorted visions that twist and mesmerise. Featuring Annaliese McGuire, Geoffrey Vagg, Rob Bobby, Pamela Rose, Tammy Wells, Kristie Lee and Jacqui Lewis, it is a beautiful piece of cinema that matches the qualities and enigma of the music:
‘The Red Room is out now and available to stream and download here.
‘The Unified Field’ is set for release on 31 October. Kennedy says of the album:
I was devastated when David Lynch died. I thought he’d live forever. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, we were spoilt for Lynch’s work. I even love his troubled version of Dune (which inspired the album cover art).
But it was Twin Peaks: The Return that unlocked a whole new realm of creativity, and I knew I wanted to record an album that not necessarily sounded like -but felt like- Twin Peaks: The Return. That meant returning to a more live sound, like our 2003 self-titled album, the first album we recorded as a fully fledged band. That album got compared a lot to Labradford (who we once supported live), Pan American and Duster. It’s a sound I’ve always loved. Slow and minimal, a little bit experimental, interspersed with Twin Peaks-esque tremolo guitars.
‘The Unified Field’ is available to pre-order now through the link below and here.
All India Radio will be launching the album in Melbourne with special guests USER and Glenn Bennie (Underground Lovers) – details below.
All India Radio are essentially Kennedy and Mark Wendt on bass.
Kennedy is a prolific creator – witness in just the past couple of years the release of three albums with The Church’s Steve Kilbey (‘Jupiter 13’, ‘The Strange Life of Persephone Nimbus’ and ‘Premonition K’) as well collaborations with Gareth Koch (‘Music In The Afterlife’) as well as All India Radio releases and his heavy metal project Observers. He works to a strict timetable – mirroring the discipline shown by Nick Cave – keeping office hours to write and record utilising his Pro Tools software and Apple computer, and composing mostly on a Martin acoustic guitar, his preferred instrument. Read my 2023 interview with him here.
