Hidden treasures of the Canberra music scene, alt. country, folk group Bec Taylor and The Lyrebirds' newest release is 'Photographs', a gentle, meditative ride detailing the art of forgiveness.
Serene yet moody, a meandering indie folk rhythm washes over the senses as Bec's vocals offer a soothing, tender tone: "Sometimes what goes around comes around... arounnddd."There's a psychedelic-gothic flourish added with a lilting, atmospheric guitar riff two-thirds into the song adding a sonic richness to the song's overall texture that also highlights the exquisite instrumentation The Lyrebirds possess.
"'Photograph' is a personal and introspective song that I am very proud to share with you. . . it is a delicate and broody alt-folk song that meditates on how difficult it can be to forgive and forget in a relationship," Bec says.
Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (1 March), scenestr is thrilled to premiere the 'Photograph' music video today. Enjoy.
A band not adverse to scouting rural locations for their music video shoots – see their 'Anchor' video – Bec Taylor and The Lyrebirds have again collaborated with filmmaker Tim Kent of Stackhat Productions.
The video for 'Photograph' features band members Sophie, Sam, Hannah, Grahame and Bec on location in Yarra, NSW, who had to jump a number of fences to get to the locations, including trudging through some swampy ground with a drum kit, keyboard, cello and guitars (did someone say 'dedication'!).
The clip centres around a ruined church from the 1860s – St Mary's Church – and its surrounding natural beauty in the fields around Goulburn including a graveyard, rusted-out car ruins and a field with dead trees. Featured in the video is an original photo of St Mary's Church from the early 1900s as well from 1981 before it was decommissioned in 1985.
"We wanted a slightly haunted feel to the clip, as the song deals with the idea of loss, grief and forgiveness, or the absence of it," Bec says.
Kent chose the film's location when he saw a cinematic ruined building on the side of the Hume Highway driving between Sydney and Canberra one day. "I was driving from Sydney to Canberra and right before you turn off the Hume I saw this cinematic wreck of an old building," he says.
"It turned out to be an old church, and when Bec sent me the song 'Photograph', I knew it would be perfect for the darker tone of the song."
Bec Taylor and The Lyrebirds will launch 'Photograph' with an intimate house gig (14 March) in bandmate Hannah's living room (Canberra).
"The Lyrebirds have been looking forward to doing an acoustic house gig here for some time, so it will be a very special gig for us and the audience. There are ONLY 40 tickets available for this gig, so make sure you get a ticket if you want to come. We will be joined by Evan Buckley and other special guests as support artists."
