Project Description
THE PARADISE RIFLEBIRDS
“Victorian Evening”
Album Review
(25th November 2020)
Reviewer – Simone Tyrrell
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The Paradise Riflebirds are a three-piece band that formed in the late 2000’s with two of the members hailing from Australia; in Cairns and Brisbane, and the third member from London. They have released their debut album Victorian Evening on 20th November 2020.
The sound and genre of The Paradise Riflebirds is a mix of indie rock, classical, with a touch of jazz. The music has a very dramatic sound and is soft and soothing.
Victorian Evening has 11 tracks on the album, and they came about as stories about outback Australia.
Listening to this album was like listening to a movie soundtrack. It takes you on a journey where you can see the story unfolding in your mind’s eye. The music evokes such vision, emotion and beauty.
This is definitely one you can listen to while laying down with your eyes closed and letting the album take you on a journey. The songs are relaxing and trance like in sound.
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Track 1: This One Goes to Those Who Never Had A Chance to Leave
A mesmerising track to start off the album. The perfect song to lead you into the journey of this album. A medium paced song compared to some of the other slower songs on the album. The sound starts off very somber on the keyboard, with a reminiscent sound of melancholy. The repetitive chords at the start as a solo for a few repetitions before the bass, drums, and lyrics kick in draw you into the sound. When the lyrics start, the song picks up and the drums kick in. In parts, the sound of the song reminded me of the Whitlams, in particular, their song Aphrodisiac.
Track 2: Goat Paths to Nowhere:
Still easing into the journey of the album the second track provides the opportunity of exploring the sounds within the bands genre. A similar paced song to the first track, with a faster sound at the start of the song with guitar and drums. The song ebbs and flows through the speed of playing going from medium to slowing right down into soft guitar chords. The song is like an ocean. Calm at first then moves into turbulent waves. This is evident when there is a clash of sounds. Sounds like static from the instruments. A clash of cymbals is thrown in with lyrics before resuming its initial pace of the start of the song returning to the calm. A transcending sounding song which takes the senses on an up and down journey throughout the song.
Track 3: He is Gone:
This track is a short powerful piece with vocals only. Even though the song is only 1:30 in length it is a very poignant song. The way the song is performed is like it is alive and has a life of its own with it breathing in and out. This is evident with the pauses after each verse is sung. A breath in, then a breath out. The lyrics take you on a questioning journey of who the song is sung about. The lyrics “He is gone and I don’t know why” repeated 3 times at the start. The song moves into explaining that even though the person is gone they don’t feel sad. The song gives a sense of remembering a person of importance. The short compelling piece gives a sense of loss but with peace.
Track 4: Cannon in the Yard:
This track reminds me of the sound of Birds Of Tokyo. It features a grungy guitar sound and heavy bass sounds. A medium paced song with the verses featuring a slower drum beat with the distinct sound of the hi hats. A strong distinct beat, again like the music is alive with a heartbeat. The song picks up part way through with the sound of all the instruments before coming to a slow end. This is another track on the album that engages your imagination where you can visualize a story being played out like a movie scene. My mind took me to a scene like protesting, fighting for rights, or even a coming home from war scene. This track was my favorite on the album.
Track 5: Follow Me:
A beautiful track where you can visualize the sights the song speaks of. The apt title “Follow Me” does make you follow to the places where the song wants to take you. The song starts off with a very short guitar intro and jumps straight into the lyrics. It is a slow ballad style song. Very soft on the vocals. The song takes you on a journey through nature and sings about the water, river, mountains and valleys. It ties the places with the connection to oneself and your feelings when being asked to follow to these places. The instrumental in the middle of the song incorporates a soft drumming that is relaxing. A very enchanting song which takes you to a dream state.
Track 6: Anyone There:
“Anyone There” is a beautiful slow ballad. The song kicks off straight into the lyrics with no music intro. Delightful melodic sound from the guitar. The song features only the guitar with a little bass. No drum beat is featured in this song. The guitar only, really compliments and strengthens the vocals and the sound of the song, driving that strong emotion of the lyric. This song in particular really took me to a place of watching a movie scene unfold where there is a longing for a lost love or looking for something that is missing from the soul. The song evokes the feeling of loneliness and sadness. It is a very touching song. Very soft and sweet.
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Track 7: Dehavilland Dreamstate:
An interesting track combining many sounds from differing genres. From a 60’s sounding Beatles moving into a more rock style. The song jumps straight into the lyrics with no music intro. The song reminded me in the first verse of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Further into the song the sound reminded me of Oasis. The track starts off with a very dreamy sound and picks up in pace and then moves into a heavier sound than the start of the song. This jump in tempo and sound brings home the Dreamstate name in the song. When in a dreamstate turning from nice, peaceful and flowing into the part of the dream that gets treacherous and wakes you. Amazing journey with this song.
Track 8: King James Shadow:
An interesting sounding track moving into the heavier trance like state of sound. The lyrics are slow and drawn out. The song features the guitar only playing soft gentle chords. The vocals in this song have melodic and rhythmic patterns with the vocables adding to the dreamy state of this piece. Another song that places you in a deamlike state like you are sleep walking through a dark place and experiencing feelings of despair.
Track 9: Mystified:
This track moves us out of the trance dreamlike state of “King James Shadow” with the tempo picked up to a more medium pace. This song moves into the feel and style of the 70’s sound of the Doors. As with the style of some of the other tracks, the song starts off immediately with lyrics and music. The song features the drums with a drum roll beat in the first minute of the song. At roughly the one-minute mark into the song the drums and guitar pick up and the song has a brief moment of getting slightly heavier before easing back into its original pace. The change in tempo part way through the song keeps you guessing with the music and the journey it is going to take you on. It is like coming to a crossroads and not knowing which way to go. When the song moves back into the familiar you feel like you are back on the right path of your journey.
Track 10: Concrete Bones:
This track moves into their jazz side of their style. It is a slow tempo ballad style song with a distinct jazz sound heard later in the song. Featuring the keyboards alone at the start and then the guitar joins with a slow chord and the drums featuring with just the cymbals. The song has a slow soft vocal. Part way through, the music changes slightly to incorporate that dreamy trance sound that is familiar throughout the other songs on the album. The song then moves back into the sound from the start when the lyrics begin again. A mix of three different genres of a soft ballad, trance like music and jazz. The fusion works very nicely together and moves into each sound seamlessly. A nice surprise at the end of the song after a very slight pause, just to add to that jazzy sound, the song breaks into a jazz solo with keyboard, drums and bass giving the song a nice ending.
Track 11: Victorian Evening:
What a way to end the album with this beautiful piece, Victorian Evening, the title track of their album. Touching on their classical side of their genre; this song has no lyrics and features only the piano playing. Halfway through the song the keyboard accompanies the piano with some synth sounds sounding like a violin. Another slow peaceful tune leaning towards the melancholy side of sound. Being the last song on the album and having that slight sadness in the tune, it can be a sign of leaving behind the musical journey you have just been on. The piece picks up ever so slightly where you could turn sadness into reminiscence.
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The last song on the album, Victorian Evening is a wonderful piece to round out the album. After listening to all the tracks, it is the perfect ending to a visual journey. The album takes you on a journey of mixed emotions with their sound and lyrics.
The Paradise Riflebirds have definitely surprised and delivered on this album incorporating a variety of styles providing an eclectic mix of sounds.
An album definitely worth listening to in full to be able to gain the full experience of the stories being told.
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Follow THE PARADISE RIFLEBIRDS
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Press Release November 20
THE PARADISE RIFLEBIRDS
release debut album
‘VICTORIAN EVENING’
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Emerging in Brisbane in the late 2000s as ‘The Riflebirds’ on LoFly Records, they played at iconic Australian venues such as the Zoo and the Hangar in Brisbane and the Esplanade Hotel in Melbourne before serious illness and unchecked perfectionism cruelled their momentum. One name change and a slew of singles later, The Paradise Riflebirds are ready to unleash their debut album Victorian Evening on November 20th.
Victorian Evening is an 11-track album full of unashamedly rich and dramatic music. It’s minor key, hazy and beautiful and succeeds in both musically and verbally depicting remote Australia, making it the perfect album to listen during drives in the country or at night. Songwriter Simon John explains,
“The album isn’t a concept album, but really just a series of stories, all set in Australia. A lot of things get left behind, or lamenting being stuck somewhere either physically, men-tally or both. The thread is really in the mood of the album, which is crepuscular and with a feeling of being in motion, with ‘stops’ (“He Is Gone”, “Anyone There”, “King James Shadow”) along the way.”
Produced by Lee Cardan at Sunshine Recorder Studios in Melbourne and Konstatin Kersting at Airlock Studios in Brisbane, the album explores themes of nostalgia, poverty, violence, abandonment, corruption, isolation, entrapment and escape through the lens of remote and rural Australia. Consisting of Simon John, Joel Edmondson and John Tulloch, wrangling guest bassist Tom Fraser and drummer Toby Bender for the album, the band aim to transport listeners to these places in which the songs were inspired by. Influenced by the likes of Augie March, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Radiohead, Simon explains,
“The album was intended to be more singular in sound than it came out. By then it came out as a bit of a menagerie of our sound. Noisy droning guitars with busy drumming (“Goat Paths To Nowhere”, “Mystified”), ’empty churchers’ (“King James Shadow”), and the country elements elsewhere. A reviewer of our first record called us an Australian Calexico and I like to think that it’s a low budget Australian sort of “Feast of Wire”, which had a wide range of sounds and influences but stood as an album that could be listened to in one go.”
While The Paradise Riflebirds earlier work was more romantic and dreamlike, the new album more direct and faster songs, and then into ‘still’ songs that have no percussion at all, with the band stating that “the lyrics have reflected the passing of time, from mostly confessional to more outward looking.” Simon John explains that the band revels in the art of experimenting with their sound, stating
“Part of our MO is not to be afraid of going slow, even pushing the limits of slow tempos, but we didn’t want to fall in the trap of everything being slow paced.”
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AMNPLIFY – DB