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MOANING LISA
release their debut album
‘SOMETHING LIKE THIS
BUT NOT THIS’
LISTEN HERE / DOWNLOAD HERE
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Photo credit: Claire Warren
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“Self-knowledge is palpable on ‘Something Like This’, an album that lovingly embraces both its alt-rock and shoegaze influences and thrillingly weird sonic flourishes that are all Moaning Lisa’s own.” – NME
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Today, alt rock four-piece Moaning Lisa release their much-anticipated debut album Something Like This But Not This via Farmer & The Owl / BMG.
It’s a labour of love that arrives some five years into the band’s arc, in the wake of not only two EPs but an entire relocation from their native Kamberra / Canberra to the new surrounds of Naarm / Melbourne.
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Photo Credit – Claire Warren
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When looking at most debut albums, the context is primarily destination-based – the here, the now, the immediate impact. In the case of Moaning Lisa, however, the framework shifts to that of the journey.
This weight of expectation is reflected in the album’s title. Something Like This But Not This is a line from “Inadequacy,” the loud-quiet-loud alt-rocker which served as the record’s second single.
Even with such mileage and momentum backing the LP the band confess that their story in the lead-up to it is not that dissimilar to other debut albums. “It’s kind of quintessential, in a way,” says Charlie Versegi, the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist. “You really do have your whole life to write your first album – there are songs on here that even predate Moaning Lisa itself. Some tracks have been around since our earliest days, others came literally weeks before we went into the studio.”
The band recorded Something Like This But Not This at Golden Retriever Studios in Sydney with Ben Moore. When the reality of the impending pandemic hit them, they returned to Melbourne and were forced to complete the record closer to home with the assistance of Lunatics On Pogosticks frontman Calum “Candy” Newton in his home studio. So, fittingly, the album’s final form became something like what the band had set out to make, but ultimately not it.
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Kalindy Williams Photography
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“I hope people walk away from this album knowing that their feelings – whatever they’re feeling or experiencing – is not new,” said singer-bassist Hayley Manwaring. “Music has a way of eliciting these shared emotions. We’re all together in the way that we feel and process things as humans, and it’s very real.”
Versegi adds: “I think it’s a very no-bullshit, cutthroat record. I think every single song has that as a common thread; straight to the point, no fucking around. It’s an album that’s defiantly rooted in reality.”
Moaning Lisa are itching to play these songs live. The ‘Something Like This But Not This’ album tour kicks off in Sydney at The Lansdowne on 18 February, continuing around the country, hitting all capital cities and select regional towns throughout February and March 2022. For fans it’s the perfect opportunity to see Moaning Lisa celebrate their album release in iconic venues across Australia, making this the band’s biggest headline tour yet.
Many feelings arise when listening to Something Like This But Not This. There’s excitement that comes with the album’s antipodean alt-rock, from propulsive lead single “Something” to the bitter exalt of “Bike Riding”. There’s tenderness and vulnerability that comes with Manwaring‘s solo lament “Don’t Dream” and the dreamy introspect of “Too Many.” There’s a seething tension writhing through the guitars of “Cold Water” and the military precision of “Working Still.” Really, if Moaning Lisa hope you get anything out of this record it’s two things: Being seen, and being heard.
“Raw emotion is something that we really do share; all of us.” said Manwaring. “We want you to be present; to know what it is that is happening and confront it. Those painful experiences, those negative emotions, those feelings of self-doubt… feel them. Go through it, because you have to. Own your shit,” concludes Versegi.
MOANING LISA are:
Singer-guitarist Charlie Versegi
Singer-bassist Hayley Manwaring
Lead guitarist Ellen Chan
Drummer Hayden Fritzlaff
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Photo credit: Claire Warren
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‘SOMETHING LIKE THIS
BUT NOT THIS’
Album Tour Dates 2022
TICKETS
FRI 18 FEB – THE LANSDOWNE, SYDNEY
SAT 19 FEB – LA LA LA’S, WOLLONGONG
FRI 25 FEB – GASO, MELBOURNE
SAT 26 FEB – VOLTA, BALLARAT
FRI 04 MAR – BLACK BEAR LODGE, BRISBANE
SAT 05 MAR – GREAT NORTHERN, BYRON BAY
FRI 11 MAR – SEWING ROOM, PERTH
SAT 12 MAR – FAT CONTROLLER, ADELAIDE
SAT 19 MAR – TRANSIT BAR, CANBERRA
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MOANING LISA ‘SOMETHING LIKE THIS BUT NOT THIS’ IS OUT NOW
GRAB IT HERE
‘Something Like This
But Not This’
Track List
1. Cold Water
2. Enough
3. Waste
4. Too Many
5. Bike Riding
6. Something
7. Inadequacy
8. Sox
9. Don’t Dream
10. Working Still
11. Fussy
12. Wild Days
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Follow MOANING LISA
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram
YouTube – Spotify – Apple Music
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