Roots-rock band Lucid Safari are coming in hot in 2022, the Brisbane group already servicing an ear-worm burner with the single 'Lady' late last year.
That release was a precursor to the quartet's debut EP 'Delirium', which features five tracks covering dreamy surf rock to chilled roots and upbeat indie rock.It's a melding pot of styles and sound that brings to mind the likes of Sticky Fingers, Ocean Alley, The Cat Empire, and The Beautiful Girls – there's even hints of The Police.
Think indie rock grooves laced with psych-reggae flavours and tight instrumentation that demands your head nod in unison to the beat; add smooth vocals, hazy jam-outs and 'Delirium' is the perfect soundtrack for a bonfire on the beach.
Ahead of the EP's release on Sunday (20 February), scenestr is stoked to premiere 'Delirium' today. Enjoy.
"'Delirium' has been in the works for a while now," frontman Dan Lewis says. "Nathan Cornacchia (of Nathan Cornacchia Productions) and I started recording back in December of 2020, and with things rapidly changing as a result of the COVID climate things moved a little slowly in the beginning.
"After some recording sessions at Red Engine Studios with the incredible Damon Joel on drums and Shane Kumar on bass, Nathan and I started working sporadically on the record between his studio clients and my gigs.
"He would come to my house and we would record guitars and vocals and then he would go back to his home studio to mix.
"When I brought some of these songs to Nathan, I really wasn't sure about some of them. They just seemed to be missing that little spark of their own; something that gave a song its own identity.
"Nathan was able to breathe a little life into the songs, allowing them to stand out on their own without being carried by the rest of the record.
"Now each song has its own feeling about it, which I love. I think a little diversity in a work of art is mostly a good thing.
"I had a very specific intention with creating a body of work and that was to create the transitions. I have been inspired by Green Day's 'American Idiot' ever since it hit my ears, and the biggest thing about it to me was that I could listen to the entire record without touching the skip button.
"Everything was so connected and flowed beautifully, following stories of various characters and the songs seamlessly rolled into one another.
"I wanted to take my listeners on a journey and although this sort of thing is usually reserved for albums, I thought 'why the hell not?!' So from now on, this is something you can expect when Lucid Safari puts out anything more than two tracks long."
Lucid Safari launch the 'Delirium' EP at Black Bear Lodge on 6 March.
"Now I'm going to talk to you about the songs themselves, but I must preface with my belief that I don't think artists should always share the true meaning of their work," adds Dan.
"I really think it's a listener's right to interpret their own meaning and I've heard listener's feel discouraged about songs when they hear what inspired them.
"So with that in mind, I'm going to completely contradict myself and give you some insight into this record.
Flickering Lights
This song was inspired by a little adventure through space and time. I had gained perspective about the ebbs and flows in life's journey and how we can rise and fall in total chaos with this not always being a bad thing.It can be freeing, but also scary, and that's okay. We can be alone, or in this instance with a companion, and learn to ride these feelings together. Jordan Pineda helped translate these abstract thoughts into lyrics; he's an incredibly talented songwriter.
Delirium
THE TITLE TRACK! Why? Two reasons. One, it's my favourite track on the record, and two, it's the only song title that sounds like the name of an album/ EP haha.I was very inspired by Ocean Alley at the time of writing this song. Although it felt like moving a mountain to get the song to come out, it finally came together. I love how the structure of the song is relatively unconventional and I think I have creative-block to thank for that.
The lyrics were somewhat nonsensical and so, they didn't lead me anywhere to tell the story I was trying to tell. The music then took control of the space, and now I have favourite moments within the song that I can't wait to play when we rock it out live.
Liquid Dreams
I think the title generally tells you what you need to know about this song's meaning. A good friend of mine came to me with the idea for the title, it was so intriguing to me and we rolled with it. It took a few turns and was even a ska song at one point.Ultimately I'm glad about where we landed. Interestingly, I found myself inspired by a Delta Riggs bass riff, and with a little bit of tweaking, I based the whole instrumental arrangement on it.
Lady
'Lady' began as a set-filler for our set at the inaugural Wynnum Fringe Festival. We had a good 45 minutes to fill and I was short about a song.Originally, I brought the song to the band as a slow reggae jam, essentially the feel of the bridge. Jordan took what I considered the B section and said it had a Black Keys kind of vibe to it, something similar to 'Gold'.
With some scribbled lyrics, we performed it at the show and got a great response. It became the resident "clap clap *pause* clap" song for our audience, haha.
Always On My Mind
This song was one of those magical experiences for me where everything just came together. I didn't even feel I was 'writing' the song, it felt like I was just pulling things out of the air that already existed.I remember I had such a busy day of obligations and errands to do, but I was running off a high from our first performance as a band the night before and had to write it down.
The song for me is literally about performing music – it's always on my mind! You could liken the lyrics to love, smokin' a jay, surfing, whatever, it's about being in the zone and doing your thing.
You'll hear some ocean soundscapes in the track and that is inspired by being in flow, relaxed, joyful, and focused.
