The Bank Holidays
Perth, Western Australia, Australia | INDIE
Music
Press
The Zombies are sadly lost in the mists of the British Invasion of the 1960s for most people. But unlike makeweights of the period such as Herman's Hermits, the intricate arrangements, quality songwriting and superior performances of the Zombies demand they not be forgotten. Thankfully, while Perth's The Bank Holidays are around, the Zombies will live on. This second Bank Holidays album is even more in the thrall of that mix of soul, classic pop and the first stirrings of gentle psychedelica. Sail Becomes A Kite is wrapped in cashmere sweaters of harmonies, decked out in strong colours of often alluring melodies and shod in strong musicianship. 4/5 - Sydney Morning Herald
Debut album from The Bank Holidays As A Film was a thoroughly loveable indie-pop record, lushly produced by J Walker and making tidy work of standard indie pop influences (Brian Wilson, The Shins etc). They are a sparser, slower, more haunting band on this wintry second album. The sweeping melancholy of The Motif comes with stately piano and when they do revisit the harmonics of Brian Wilson they do it with greater panache, as on the vibes-infused His Majesty’s Voice with its hints of both Wouldn’t It Be Nice and Til I Die. The boy-girl harmonies are as potent as ever, but it’s particularly Bekk Crombie who comes into her own as a vocalist, boasting a ‘60s-esque melodic purity (no fashionable affectations to be found here, the tune always comes first). The a cappella title track could be one of the more reflective moments on The Zombies’ Odessey And Oracle (sic), segueing effortlessly into the most James Mercer-esque moment on the album, the stunning pop of Oxford Street. All in all, Sail Becomes A Kite is not only a considerable evolution from their 2007 debut, it’s possibly one of the more significant Australian releases of the year. - Rave Magazine
A Perth four-piece whose 2007 debut album let loose with spritely rhythms for summer, The Bank Holidays follow their musical lineage to the overcast British beachside on their follow-up. While W.A.'s dusty country bent comes through, it's on the foundation of pale-faced pop from the likes of Liverpool's The La's that the band build this album. It's a wonderful thing, too, because the sound is taken to some mightily gripping places. Perfect harmonies, wrenchingly pretty guitars and clouded production sweep over Sail Becomes a Kite. But it's the details sewn into every song the faintest percussion flourish, the grinding riffs off to the side
and the masterly written melodies that really make the record. - The Age
Sail Becomes A Kite is the second record from Perth’s The Bank Holidays and to put it right up front, it is simply magnificent. The Autumn-esque follow-up to what was a Summery debut in As A Film, the melancholy-fuelled Sail... is rich in texture, songwriting prowess and boasts the production swagger that gave early material from The Shins as well as albums like The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and The Zombies’ Odyssey & Oracle their intense charm and longevity.
The three-way sharing of lead vocals between guitarist Bekk Crombie, her bassist husband James Crombie and guitarist Nat Carson makes for an interesting ride, eclectic but mysteriously cohesive at the same time largely thanks to the sublime treatment in the music itself. James Crombie’s vocal delivery instantly evokes a young James Mercer while Bekk Crombie’s haunting Norwegian delivery brings someone like Cerys Matthews or even our own Juanita Stein to mind and Carson is simply made for the big ballads. The harmonies throughout are a big drawcard especially on the likes of the opening Tripping Up To Fall In Love where a catchy chorus bounces off the reverb-drenched vocals superbly. Save Silence takes it up another notch featuring a sublime girl/boy call and response while The Motif sits within the tracklist differently, spotlighting poignant piano and a lead guitar George Harrison would be proud of.
In short, Sail Becomes A Kite is so good it hurts. If any act of a more prominent status was to record this exact album, you’d be hearing its praised screamed for the rooftops. Being an indie band from Perth, the screams will take a little longer to be heard but rest assured this is not just one of 2010’s best releases from an indie band, it’s one of the best albums of 2010 full stop... 4.5/5 - Time Off Magazine
Discography
As A Film [2007 - Lost & Lonesome (Aus), Darla (USA)]
Sail Becomes A Kite [2010 - Lost & Lonesome (Aus), Darla (USA)]
Photos
Bio
Hailing from Perth, Western Australia, The Bank Holidays take supreme pleasure in layering multiple vocal parts across a mesh of lush guitar jangle and bass plonk. Over the years they’ve shown their wares playing shows with international luminaries such as Peter, Bjorn & John, Caribou, Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers.
Having built a strong live following, and scoring regular high rotation on the national airwaves with their early EPs, the band's 2007 debut long-player As a Film was proof that complex, interesting and fun pop music is still doing a thriving trade. A tasteful piece of warm, stately pop, featuring male and female lead singers, the debut was widely lauded as an impressive classic-pop rendering along the lines of Camera Obscura, The Zombies and The Shins. It also saw The Bank Holidays take out a Western Australian Music Industry Award for Best Indie Pop Group the same year.
2008 saw the band tour across Germany, UK and Scandinavia, making an extended stay in a Norwegian coastal house where they composed a number of new songs with the underlying theme of "home". Back in Perth, the band found themselves sketching out those songs at the ABC Studios with gentleman engineer Martin Roth, a man just as likely to be broadcasting sports or recording an orchestra, as working with indiepop bands.
On 2010 release Sail Becomes A Kite, the embers have been gently stoked and the reverb has been spread thick. Nylon strings are gently plucked and surf guitars drift by menacingly in the distance. This is used to full effect on minor-key opener 'Tripping Up to Fall in Love' while an unsettling spaciousness permeates several songs including 'Particles' and album closer 'Gravity's Playthings'. It's not all faded melancholy though — 'His Majesty's Voice' and 'Oxford St' provide passing glimpses of the band at their swaggering best, while 'Through the Trees' evokes images of a seventies Beach Boys photo shoot, complete with golden lens flare. Straddling the line meanwhile, 'Thereabouts', a lilting tango, is exhilarating in its yearning. It's this masterful interplay of light and shade that makes for such captivating listening.
Sail Becomes a Kite is the sound of The Bank Holidays at their tender best; their brilliant command of vocal arrangement has, more than ever, allowed them to cast an autumnal shadow across their most panoramic glow of sunshine pop.
Yet, still present among the moodier, more filmic atmosphere is the band's indisputable grasp of melody and compelling song-writing, with album track "Save Silence" receiving rotation on Australian national radio network Triple J.
Sail Becomes A Kite is released through Lost & Lonesome Recording Co in Australia, with distribution through Darla in USA.
Reviews of Sail Becomes A Kite...
"If any act of a more prominent status was to record this exact album, you’d be hearing its praised screamed for the rooftops. Being an indie band from Perth, the screams will take a little longer to be heard but rest assured this is not just one of 2010’s best releases from an indie band, it’s one of the best albums of 2010 full stop... 4.5/5" - Time Off Magazine (Brisbane, Aus)
"Perfect harmonies, wrenchingly pretty guitars and clouded production sweep over Sail Becomes a Kite. But it's the details sewn into every song the faintest percussion flourish, the grinding riffs off to the side and the masterly written melodies that really make the record... 4/5" - The Age (Melbourne, Aus)
"Thereabouts is the first single from Sail Becomes a Kite and it's a lush, cleverly crafted ball of beauty. Bekk Reczek sings like Cerys Matthews of Catatonia, leading the dreamy '60s sound with her childlike voice. And then, in the last twenty seconds of the song, her bandmates kick in with an Animal Collective-inspired harmonic burst. Beautiful." - Beat Magazine (Melbourne, Aus)
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