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Chris Gillespie and supporting musicians Matt Luciano and Ben Hazlett (aka the Wandering Hands) are a Sydney threesome producing some very mellow Australian roots tunes and just released a new album ‘Unnatural Light’ last November.
With a title that reads like a dodgy newspaper article, I can understand why Chris Gillespie dropped the support band from their name since their last release. Luckily, despite the name change their sound is still as mellow as ever and the new album is simply awesome.
Lead singer Chris Gillespie delivers a great solo performance on the vocals throughout the album. His crisp clear voice is really easy to listen to, and the evident ‘occa’ twang adds some character that allows you to feel a bit more of a connection to the music. His lyrics are very realistic, mainly about the struggles of life, and with no disrespect are slightly depressing at times.
Instrumentally, the band keeps most tracks nice and simple, usually just some percussion and a guitar/mandolin and is more than effective. Having said that, they do mix it up with an awesome harmonica work, some finger clicking, and the impressive harmonies by Luciano and Hazlett. In fact, purely relating to the music, it reminds me a bit of the simple tracks that underpinned Hank Williams amazing voice only 70 years earlier.
‘Autumn Winds’ is the track that stands out the most to me. It also illustrates my point about the depressing lyrics about life’s difficulties, and manages to convey both the amazing harmonies by Luciano and Hazlett and the use of harmonica. The best thing about this song is the guitar work by Luciano, who plays a plucky enjoyable solo around the 1 minute mark before the harmonica kicks in for some support. Its just a simple and effective little number, that I can almost envision being used in advertising. Just a great chilled listen.
‘Unnatural Light’ is out now, and you can listen to it in full on their bandcamp page, or catch them live in the Blue Mountains next month. - Aussie Playlist
It’s difficult for any independent acoustic artist to make a name for themselves in the shadow of the likes of Josh Pyke and John Butler. Yet somehow Chris Gillespie pulls this off with an earthy, unadorned and folksy panache. He picks up the tired old country storyteller persona, lays down the usual harmonica, banjo and fiddle, but somehow creates an intoxicatingly addictive blend of country-infused folk rock that is at once familiar and unique. A follow-up to his 2006 and 2007 EPs, Unnatural Light presents a full-length album that further extrapolates his ‘walk on the beach at sunset’ style. The sagacious and poignant lyrics of the title track and I’m Still Here lend a minstrelsy quality that romanticises even the dullest facets of the domestic atmosphere. Having run the gamut of human emotions, the album then peters out to a repetitive close that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, not to mention a heavy heart.
PETE WALSH
- 'Rave' Magazine (Brisbane Street Press)
Discography
2006 - The Road To Tamworth (EP)
2007 - Free To Roam (EP)
2012 - Unnatural Light (Album)
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Bio
Chris Gillespie is an independent artist from the Blue Mountains of NSW. His songs are beautiful, bursting with observational yearning. “A fingerpickin’, harmonica playing troubadour... ‘Sydney’s answer to Bob Dylan” (Dave Regos – FBi Radio). Gillespie is renowned by his audience and peers for his songwriting craft, especially his lyrics – “Chris Gillespie is definitely one of those timeless songsmiths” - Joe Gould, (The Crooked Fiddle Band). There are songs about highways, unexplained lights at night, getting lost in the mountains, songs about old houses and the thoughts that still live there, songs about cockatoos petitioning state governments and privatizing, songs of dogs that take wickets with left hand unorthodox spin, about gravity, about satin bowerbirds, dawn choruses, declarations, roaming free. There’s a song about Balmain in Sydney on a Saturday night as the sun goes down. This music is very Australian, highly original and delivered with refreshing honesty and integrity. You are guaranteed to be moved by this songwriter. Chris has been a regular feature on the national music scene since 2006, previously releasing two EPs: the Road to Tamworth in 2006 and Free to Roam in 2008. Since then, in 2012 after four years of touring and performing comes his new full length album, “Unnatural Light”. Chris was recently invited to perform on Fuel TV (Foxtel) with his band. The new album has been receiving radio play all across Australia from Sydney to Geelong to Kalgoorlie. The album is currently receiving play on Triple J and the title track has spent 2 months in the Triple J Unearthed overall national charts. “Autumn Winds (from ‘Unnatural Light’) is such a simply constructed tune, with gorgeous harmonies. It just goes to show that you don’t need all the bells and whistles to make an excellent song come to life” – Sarah Howells, Triple J presenter (Roots n’ All) “It's beautiful stuff... I'm really loving this album... (it's) an impressive final result for a completely independently produced recording...” (Tim Higgins – 2SER FM)
Watch the ‘Unnatural Light’ Music Video on Youtube
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