The sonic behemoth that is Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird (CTBNF) roll into our universe, foot flat to the floor, with the grand expansive and enigmatic single ‘My Ghost & Its Crawling’, proving yet again that this is a transformative and thrilling outfit. It’s a precursor to one of my personal most anticipated album releases for the year, ‘Rosewater Crocodile’ due out on 10 July through the glorious Double Drummer label.
‘My Ghost & Its Crawling’ sees singer Lachlan Rose adopt a vocally lighter almost falsetto tone and the result is something more ethereal and posed. There are certainly elements of the gravitas of The National and Tindersticks detectable in the DNA, delivered over a rolling rumbling piano and soaring, euphoric melodies that epitomise this band.
Rose says of the track in his usual erudite style:
‘My Ghost & Its Crawling’ explores the haunting nature of memory, and the forms that significant people assume within our own psyches. In some ways I think people from our past live inside us as very real, living, breathing entities. They can be talked with, argued with, listened to and loved, for better or for worse. In my experience, no matter how hard you exorcise those spirits, they can still be heard crawling around in the attics and the garrets and the nooks and in the hallways of your heart. This song is sung from the perspective of such a spirit.
An aching melancholy beauty threads through the track and CTBNF deliver yet again something stirring and exciting. They are the proselytising, evangelistic prophets of music, and you count me as a devoted acolyte:
‘My Ghost & Its Crawling’ is out today and can be streamed and downloaded here.
The new album promises to continue CTBNF’s engangalistic ascension. It is an album that represents an unique chapter of their artistry. Rose says:
The album was recorded on Dja Dja Wurrung Country inside a beautiful chapel on Josh’s property, a couple of hours from the city. Most of the time it was utterly freezing but we ran with kangaroos in the frosty woods some mornings, ate his wife Marta’s outrageous pumpkin pie, and warmed our hands by the fireplace so we felt dextrous enough to play instruments. One thing that stands out to me is how little music we listened to while we made this album. When people ask what it sounds like, I don’t really know what to tell them – other than maybe Phil Collins’ original soundtrack for Disney’s Tarzan.
CTBNF continue to be one of the most distinctive, innovative bands in Australia at the moment – each single, each album raises the bar exponentially with their orchestral big band sound, their infectious, joyous melodies and inimitable style. They are musical evangelists preaching the most heady and rousing anthems that enflame the very soul.
They will hopefully be touring overseas but in the meantime deserve the fullest support across Australia. They are too precious a resource to be hidden under a bushel.
The band will be undertaking the Cousin Tony’s “Rosewater Crocodile” Tour – with the first dates announced today and tickets available here:
25 July – The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
2 August – The Ed Castle, Adelaide
9 August – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
12 August – The Brightside, Brisbane
The new album follows their last album, 2022’s ‘Smiles of Earth’ album (see my review here), which contains one of my personal favourite singles of the past decade, ‘When This Is Over‘.
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