Alternative-country band The Wild Comforts will tour after recording their latest album with Australian country music legend, Bill Chambers.
A dusty, outback city known for its corrugated iron houses and its hot and dusty desert climate is what The Wild Comforts have named their new record ‘Silver City Sorrow’, which is set for release this month. The rich, country surroundings of the ‘silver city’ – the nickname for the mining town Broken Hill in far west New South Wales – perfectly sets the atmosphere for the album with its tales of heartbreak, gambling and rollicking, drunken celebrations.
Broken Hill is where lead singer, Joshua Deeble, grew up and he reflects that initially living there really frustrated him. “Not much really happens there. When I grew up there, I hated country music. Like it was the only music there really. I just hated it so much.”
But his transformative moment came at age 19 when he stumbled upon a record that changed his life. “I got Bright Eye's 'I'm Wide Awake [It’s Morning]' and I’m like 'Wow! Country is actually really good!' Then I got into Townes Van Zant stuff. And yeah, I found a new love for country.”
Joshua now considers Broken Hill a big part of his identity and an influence on his songwriting. The Wild Comforts, which is a play on Wild Turkey and Southern Comfort bourbons, was a name Joshua came up with when he worked at a liquor store. Although he jokes they could have easily been called ‘The Southern Turkeys’.
The band formed on the Sunshine Coast in 2010 and released their self-titled debut album the next year. They have built a following while touring with their unique sound; a mixing pot of genres.
“One of my favourite bands was The Replacements … Ben our drummer, he is like a bit of a punk … Our bass player Kinch Kinski is a songwriter as well. But he is probably more influenced by folk. So everyone is not mad into country,” Josh says.
The Wild Comforts eventually caught the attention of Bill Chambers, who got onboard to produce ‘Silver City Sorrow’. “[Bill] is really such a talented musician and really good to work with. He is a really good guy and he is really an amazing guitar player; he can listen to the song for 30 seconds and can play the best line,” Joshua says.
The Wild Comforts - Cosette from The Wild Comforts on Vimeo.
But it was recording the album’s first single, ‘Cosette’, with Bill’s daughter – Kasey Chambers – that made it extra special for the band. “We had this jam night … [Bill] was in the crowd and he got up, did a few songs. Then I could see Kasey [Chambers] in the crowd, I was so excited. I was like on the stage, [I] asked her to do a song with us and like she didn't want to but I persisted.
“But she jumped up and started singing the words of the chorus and sang along. It was just a real cool jam kind of thing. And then the next day she called her dad, Bill. [She] called him up while we were in the studio and was like ‘Can I come in and record on that song?’ and I was like ‘hmmm yes!’ She invited herself in. It was great. She has such a powerful voice. She stands like two rooms away from the microphone and it’s still ear-piercing and it’s great.”
When writing material that is meaningful and heartfelt, Joshua has his own way of doing things. “The best songwriters for me are Townes Van Zant and Ryan Adams. I feel like they can capture when they are going through the shit kind of thing, they can song write and that's why they are amazing songwriters. For me, I can't write songs when I'm going through the shit; I have to be coming just out of it kind of thing … But there is still hope in the songs, there has got to be. There has got to be hope.”
With 2014 having been a big year for the band, The Wild Comforts have already set in motion plans for the road ahead in 2015. “I want to record an EP … I want to do it straight after the tour,” Joshua says. “Bill actually invited us overseas, I think the end of [2015] to do some stuff around Nashville. I want to get onboard with that [too] obviously.”
Written by Nicholas Ivanovic
The Wild Comforts Tour Dates
Fri 9 Jan - Babushka Bar (Ballarat)Sat 10 Jan - The Bridge Hotel (Castlemaine)
Thurs 15 Jan - Brighton Up Bar (Sydney)
Sat 24 Jan - The Bearded Lady (Brisbane)
Sat 31 Jan - The Old Bar (Melbourne)
