The Bloodpoets
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | INDIE
Music
Press
“Power-pop needs to take over the world,” a great philosopher once wrote. And right he was. If you love the thought of The Cure, The Beatles, The Killers and Smashing Pumpkins all mashed together in one glorious extended play of indie, power-pop goodness, then go no further than Brisbane’s own Bloodpoets. The opening ‘Don’t Go To Work’ brilliantly recalls the early British Invasion sound while subsequent tracks channel everything from the Pyschedelic Furs (‘Coronation On The Wall’) to the BritPop sound of the 90s (‘Privacy Act’). Top-shelf material! (BP) - Time Off Magazine
THE BLOOD POETS EP
Fire in Erlangen
(Independent)
The entire population of Hervey
Bay (from which half the members
still hail from) should be proud.
The Blood Poets have done the
whole pop song thing, and done
it well. The opening track ‘Don’t
Go to Work’ is fun, boppy and
well constructed, similar to the
‘Theme from The Monkees’. The
four remaining songs, for a more
contemporary analysis, could be a
part of Ben Lee’s repertoire. It’s like
all the great music that relentlessly
jams the airwaves - as wholesome
as a toffee apple
8/10
(Polly). - Tsunami Magazine
Female keyboardist Bec Plath sets The Bloodpoets apart from the herds of all-male rock acts out there. Her backing vocals and the locally-based five-piece’s ability to throw melodic piano breaks amongst their guitar-driven rock provides welcome variation. - Rave Magazine
The Bloodpoets begin their set to a nearly packed house, and quickly slip into groove with their infectious brand of jangly rock numbers - Rave Magazine
That rather gothic name and the wonderfully dark sleeve photography suggests a record of chilling 3am moodscapes. The lyric sheet, meanwhile, reveals a few texts straight from the emo school of expression – I feel you burn but I won’t let you know/This cursed disease, within me etc. However, The Bloodpoets’ new album, Polarity is far removed from both these misconceptions. In fact, it’s a largely upbeat record with angsty teenager lyrics ably tempered by catchy guitar melodies. The record’s strengths are evident right away in the rumbling bass and sinister beatpop of Just In Time and the superb Borderline. There’s a cheeky dab of T-Rex in the jaunty pop of Tryst and even a hint of Screamfeeder in u82 (We’ll Find A Way). At the end of the record, there’s a nice segue between the final two tracks - the handwringing What You Think You Know subtly melding into the U2-flavoured closer My Paradise. The Bloodpoets try their hand at a few musical styles on this accomplished, enjoyable record while keeping their solid pop sensibility intact throughout. - Rave Magazine
With their debut album Polarity, The Bloodpoets have created an album that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go until the final strains.
The opening track “Just In Time” bursts from the speakers, and the follow-up and first single “Borderline” is just as hard hitting. This is the kind of music that demands to be turned up loud. But it’s not just the energy that appeals. They might be a band that rocks hard, but The Bloodpoets also have a strong pop sensibility. Their tunes are infectiously addictive. They’ve got their quirks to be sure, but I can imagine these melodic songs becoming mainstays of Triple M.
But there’s a lot more going on here than straight down-the-line energetic rock numbers. The natural humour of “Give It a Shot” is so refreshing. The dark instrumentation of “Straight Ahead” is interesting too. And the closer, “My Paradise” is an epic more ambitious than most would attempt on their debut album. The track is a risk, yet amazingly it works.
After playing Polarity for a few days I realised I’m actually going to see The Bloodpoets supporting The Badloves this weekend. I can’t wait to discover whether they can capture the energy of this disc in the live arena.
- Oz Music Scene
Polarity is the long awaited debut album from Queensland group the Bloodpoets. Showcasing their unique blend of hard rock with indie pop Polarity is overall extremely appealing. First single Borderline is fresh and energetic and 100 Lashes is melodically clever and catchy. U82 (We'll Find A Way) is playfull and poppy, like something you'd find on the soundtrack of a 90s teen comedy - definately one of the highlights of the album. Full of solid tracks Polarity makes for an easy listen and should be accessible to most audiences. Tom Murphys lead vocals are strong and confident, practically flawless and mesh perfectly with the rest of the band. Instrumentally, there's nothing outstanding but at the same time there's nothing not to like. Polarity is professional without being overproduced - a superb debut album. - Tsunami Magazine
Following two weeks of online voting by music fans, The JD Set is back for round three, this time headlined by The Panics. They’ll be joined onstage by Victoria’s alt-country rockers Matheson and Brisbane based five-piece The Bloodpoets. Following weeks of public voting, the two acts won the support slot for the forthcoming tour, which will make stops in Melbourne, Perth and Busselton in late September.
Voting numbers were again high, as fans chose who they wanted to see on tour with the headline act. The Panics follow You Am I and Faker, who hit the road for The JD Set’s first two tours earlier in the year.
- Faster Louder
Winners of the JD set, The Bloodpoets were up next. Their strong voting fanbase that voted to have them support The Panics was out in force. Playing songs from their coming album like What You Think You Know ,The Bloodpoets brought their pop rock tones down from Brisbane. Guitarist Jason Marles riffs sit well with lead singer Tom Murphy and backup vocalist Bec Plath’s harmonies. Their fast indie pop hooks and Rosco’s funky trumpet delighted the Melbournes first glimpse of The Bloodpoets.
The Panics engulfed the room with a mix of their old and new songs. From their solid opener to older greats like Sleeps Like A Curse their somewhat laid back brilliance is obvious. Jae Laffer caught the crowds ears early on with Live Without, and followed the mellowed pace with Great Divide. The band was filled with a confident energy as they performed their set, and whilst this did much for their musicianship, their set did little to enthral the room. Continuing the good but not stellar mellow set with Confess they kept the crowd captivated.
- Faster Louder
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The Zoo is becoming one of the last true alternative live music venues in Brisbane. It is another balmy night, but the crowd gathering dont seem to mind as they filter in to catch local act, THe Bloodpoets, and up and coming Melbourne band, British India.
The Bloodpoets get things started, and immediately catch everyones attention. They are local and have a strong local fan base, but with their melodic tunes and catchy lyrics, they easily show the crowd that they love what they do.
Talented musicians, the lead vocalist Tom Murphy, along with backup vocalist Bec Plath, ensure that the sound of The Bloodpoets is different enough to keep everybody interested. Include the solid performances from drummer Todd Orchard, guitarist Jason Marles and bassist Jake Parker, and this band demonstrates a lot of maturity and this is reflected onstage. Their up-coming debut single Borderline is well received by the crowd as they provide a nice introduction to the evening.
- Faster Louder
Discography
Polarity (Album)
Fire In Erlangen EP
Dance (Single)
Wings (EP)
Photos
Bio
The Bloodpoets are Tom Murphy, Jason Marles, Jake Parker, Todd Orchard and Bec Plath.
Tom Murphy began The Bloodpoets in Germany, after writing songs and busking on the streets of Erlangen, a sleepy quiet town 30 minutes from Nuremberg. Within a year in Erlangen and a growing collection of original songs mounting, Tom went to a house party in which a strange man with no connection handed him a right handed guitar. Tom of course being left handed flipped it over, and reluctantly played the new song he was writing. This man was young up and coming producer Fabian Strangl, who was a new engineer at Paperplane Records. Fabian organized an audition the next day for Tom and that afternoon a schedule had been set to record Tom’s new music.
Within 3 weeks of that schedule, ‘Fire In Erlangen’ had been written and recorded set to be released to the German market, which Tom toured acoustically around Europe before booking a flight heading back to Tom’s homeland to unleash on the Australian audience.
Back in Australia, The Bloodpoets released their debut EP in 2006 to rave reviews. Time Off called the EP “Glorious” giving it 4/5, with Tsunami Magazine giving it 8/10.
Fast forward 3 years later, The Bloodpoets released ‘Borderline’ as a single from their debut album ‘Polarity’ immediate responses came from Triple J Unearthed seeing them being featured artists 2 months consecutively, and receiving a large circulation of play over the summer of 2008/2009. Richard Kingsmill (Triple J Music Director) was quoted as saying the ‘Borderline’ single was “Catchy and a brain sticker for sure.” From the large volume of Triple J airplay, The Bloodpoets were named as one of the hot bands in Australia by Radar Radio and Channel V which saw them play relentless amounts of shows with Australia’s biggest name bands. Additionally, Triple M radio added “Borderline” to numerous shows.
To seal this success off, the band were then picked up by Channel V and “Borderline” was the most requested song on Channel V online for 2 weeks running. On top of this, Tsunami Magazine recently gave ‘Borderline’ a review of 9/10 “Latest single from Brisbane’s own power-pop group is certainly a keeper. Borderline, leaves you not only wanting to sing along to the chorus, but also squeal along with the verses whilst playing feverish air guitar during the instrumental sections – it’s just so damn catchy.”
The success of other songs on the album followed soon after “Borderline”s success, with “My Paradise” being synced with Top Rating show “Bondi Rescue” on Episode 12, and their second single “Just In Time” being added to both Triple J and Triple M once again.
From this point, the band took “Borderline” internationally receiving airplay on Oz shows across America, Germany and Canada. Most notably was the addition of Borderline on Zone FM, listing the band as the hot find of the week on their website.
After the major success on radio and television that has seen their second single already picked up by Triple J and will begin their second album with ARIA award winning producer Magoo in 2010. It has already been green lighted by Channel V for rotation, and the band has begun airing the song at their recent support slots with Katy Steele (Little Birdy), The Whitlams to a sold out Tivoli (1500 people), and 2010 shows with British India.
2011 has seen the band support Trial Kennedy as well as release EP Wings which was supported by a National tour and are currently preparing to take part in the "100 Songs" project. In August, the band will also be taking part in a fundraiser event to assist QUT students who will be working within Rural Indigenous communities.
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