Moody, raw and achingly honest rhythms, blazin' riffs, and delicious-sounding throughout Nick Carver & The Mean Street Butchers latest album 'ANIMALS' is a beautiful snapshot of a band of musicians fused together, creating rollicking country-blues, bruised swamp rock and riotous Americana-soaked folk.
Add lyrical themes that traverse Nick's home life and the long country drives where his inspiration is uninhibited and imagination can roam wild, and 'ANIMALS' is the kinda album you can easily hit repeat once the eight songs have played through the first time. Infuse a dash of bourbon and the dance-floor will be your destination!"The live vibe of four musicians smashing out live takes has always been at the heart of The Mean St Butchers," Carver says.
"Lyrically, the album deals with the raising of my son, leaving my old city life, the beautiful ugliness of abandoned swamps, loss, love for music, love for my loved ones and a call to men to be decent f...ing blokes." Amen brother.
A band who have supported the likes of Ash Grunwald, Custard, The Fauves and The Tea Party, Nick Carver & The Mean Street Butchers have also graced the stage at NYE On The Hill, Inverloch Sounds of Summer Festival and Folk Rhythm and Life Festival.
"'ANIMALS' is our sophomore album," continues Nick. "The eight tracks contain slow-burning psychedelic numbers like 'Pony' and 'Animals', garage jams like 'Let Me Go' and 'Slow Dance' and introspective soulful songs like 'The Way That You Walk'.
"The album was born from me tinkering in my studio in country Victoria over a period of two years, with the live beds for the album finally being busted out over two days at The Aviary Studios in Abbotsford with Fraser Montgomery."
Ahead of the album's release tomorrow, scenestr is thrilled to premiere 'ANIMALS' today. Enjoy.
Two Legged Dog
One of those pesky riffs that had been hanging around for a while, it's basically about the drive from the city back down the coast to Inverloch where I live with my family, at home by my fireplace holding my wife's hand.Let Me Go
A song in two parts, the first of which I wrote when I was dissatisfied at an old job, and the second when I'd moved out of the city into a more positive world.The Way That You Walk
The song is directed at a particular sect of men who believe that their words and actions have no consequence, IN PARTICULAR THE WHOLE #NOTALLMEN BULLSH.T.My Baby's Eyes
This one is all for my son Teddy (Theodore) Carver.Slow Dance
The lyrics basically describe listening to a new 180-gram Stooges vinyl while laid out on a bean bag, and juxtaposing that with a drunken, one-night stand.PONY
I always try to pass this song off as just a cool song to listen to while I smoke pot, but it is about saying goodbye to a loved one as they pass from this world into the next.Jimmy Wilson
The song deals with the issue of Indigenous incarceration, and the injustices that continue against Aboriginals in this country.Animals
This song is about the beauty one can find in a seemingly ugly and non-curated stretch of coastline. 'The place where the animals go down to the water to die.'Nick Carver & The Mean Street Butchers 2022 Tour Dates
Sat 16 Jul - Arockalypse Now Festival (Gippsland)Sat 13 Aug - The Retreat Hotel (Melbourne)
Fri 30 Sep - George Land (Melbourne)
4-6 Nov - Inward Goods Festival (Briagolong)
Sat 19 Nov - Caravan Music Club (Archies Creek)
Sat 26 Nov - Live At The Park 2022 @ Drouin Civic Park
