A glorious melding of pop, soul and AM-styled '80s rock (with shavings of funk sprinkled on top), Adelaide's Wanderers continue to prove themselves as quality, if somewhat unheralded songwriters.
Although it's been half a decade since they released new music, that's not entirely their fault with the pairing of Dusty Lee Stephensen and Matt Birkin having been scheduled to record at Foo Fighters' famed Studio 606 in 2020 – but, y'know the pandemic and stuff happened.While one door closed for the band, they focused on their unrecorded material that had proven popular live refining a number of tracks back home with an EP quickly taking shape.
"As 2020 hit, our recording dreams were coming true - we were about to head over to record an album in LA at Studio 606, Foo Fighters HQ – the home of the famous SoundCity desk, responsible for capturing many of our favourite records," Wanderers says.
"All this while set amongst the backdrop of the California coastline, would have been a setting so fitting for our music."
Then COVID arrived. "We put those plans on ice, and focused on this EP, capturing some of our most loved tracks from touring and you can see the touches of that plan in the artwork and songs.
"We threw ourselves into recording at a collection of our favourite Adelaide studios – Wildflower, Wundenbergs, The Orchard; so we're excited to have this one out, and gearing up to get on the road and share it with the world."
Tickets are on sale.
Wanderers 2022 Tour Dates
Fri 1 Apr - The Night Cat (Melbourne)Fri 29 Apr - Felons Barrel Hall (Brisbane)
Sat 30 Apr - Waywards (Sydney)
Fri 27 - Lion Arts Factory (Adelaide)
Ahead of a trip to SXSW, here Dusty shares five albums he can't live without and routinely wanders back to for repeat listens.
Donny Hathaway - 'Live'
This is a good place to start. I couldn't live without this album because it is (in my opinion) the purest example of the power of music and how it connects people.First time I heard this record my friend put it on as we drove the nine-hour stretch for a gig two peninsulas away from home. The Wurlitzer and Donny's silky voice had me from the get-go, then the drums kicked in and a groove relentlessly ensued, that I can only imagine had the walls of The Troubadour shaking on that night in 1972.
It is a masterclass in audience back and forth, without even saying much. . . Donny had them right there, singing and clapping as if they'd all been at all the rehearsals too.
People talk about Joe Cocker's fantastic re-arrangements, but to me Donny is the king. 'In The Ghetto', 'What's Going On', 'Jealous Guy', 'You Got A Friend'. . . they're freakin epic. I swear when you listen, you can smell the smokey room that night and feel the energy coming off of that stage.
The Beatles - 'Abbey Road'
I am certainly not the first person to have this album in my top 5, and I'm pretty sure everything that could be said has been said about it, has.To me, there is no MVP on this album, it's all of them at peak creativity just completely sending it.
George Harrison really comes from left of field on this one and shows that he can write songs just as timeless as the other two blokes. Lennon's 'Because' makes me cry every time.
And McCartney's magnum opus medley on side two changed everything. Ringo was there too.
Jeff Buckley - 'Grace'
This album is what an artist with no bounds sounds like when they completely let go. Jeff managed to completely bare his soul, and it is pure magic.His voice is unparalleled. He goes from sounding like a beautiful French lady on songs like 'Lilac Wine' to sounding like a glorified, terrifying rock god on 'Eternal Life', with a shift in guitar tones to match.
The drumming on this record is unreal as well. The whole production sums up some pretty damn good forgotten years in the '90s where alternative artists were able to create their masterpieces, seemingly uninterrupted.
Sufjan Stevens - 'Illinois'
This album is always an odd one out on my lists, but it is always in my top few. I don't remember how this album came into my life but I know it baffled me for quite some time before it eventually seeped its way into my DNA.I grew up on Led Zeppelin, Status Quo, Deep Purple, so this was a big move away from the testosterone normally coming out of my speakers as a kid.
The songs on this album seem to paint a character that is completely innocent, naive, perhaps a little confused and almost certainly searching for something.
Each song is a different story, usually from a first-person perspective, about an experience relative to the state of Illinois, where I believe he lived while writing this record (intending it to be part of a project where he'd record an album in each state of the USA, not sure how far he got).
Sufjan has no rules, no formula, and no go-to tricks. The way the dynamics build through the songs laden with strings, vibraphones, horns, church choirs and percussion is like nothing I've ever heard before, nor since.
The song 'Chicago' is probably the best known from this record and is a great place to start. This song takes you on a ride over six minutes that is indicative of the ride you can expect to take over the course of the album.
Lewis Taylor - 'Stoned Pt.1'
If you haven't heard of Lewis Taylor, you are not alone. He is an English born singer-songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist/ producer who retired from music right as he was breaking it big, around 2006.I was introduced to this album through an ex-bandmate who was on to him when this record wasn't anywhere to be found in any of the usual places. Not on iTunes, on streaming services, just on a hard drive he had that he'd uploaded to his phone.
He'd have it everywhere he drove for a good few months and every song I heard just blew my mind. It was nearly impossible to get any information about this guy at all, which made the whole record even more alluring.
I heard that he'd had the likes of Elton John and D'Angelo coming to his shows on his first tour of the US, which he cut short as he suddenly ended his music career and pulled his records from the shelves, never explaining why.
Anyway, this record proves that he is a total innovator and virtuoso, worthy of being listed with the best of the best.
His voice is subtle and soulful, always laden with harmonies. Guitar solos are epically placed in bridge sections that take songs to space and back. None of it is predictable yet there are hooks galore. The lyrics are cryptic and deep, and the arrangements are stunning.
I have heard he's working on releasing new music for the first time in 17 years! Exciting.
The song 'Lovelight' was later covered and released as a single by Robbie Williams, but this version is the real deal. The song 'Stoned' has one of my all-time favourite choruses and some kick-ass guitar tones. 'Positively Beautiful' and 'Shame' are epic tracks too. Get around this record, you won't regret it.
