Elsewhere kindly asked me to write something about the making of the new album - you can read the full article here
"I wanted to make a record that delved into different rhythms, styles and sonic textures, a record I’d want to listen to. Most of all I did not want to make a downer record.
My pie-in-the sky blueprint was nothing less than Stevie’s Innervisions – funky, political, tender and tough - a record that gave you a sense of a city and its people, living and breathing. Most of the songs on FTP were written in 2012/13 while Egypt burned (Cities in the Distance) and while much of the Far North high-tailed it to mining jobs in Aussie if they could (Working Poor). They’re about rush-hour ennui and domestic dramas (Jaywalkers, Sleepless Kid), not forgetting a few nods at Tin Pan Alley moon-in-June romance (There She Goes, Honeysuckle Love). My favourite song might be Summer in the City – about grabbing a sad-sack friend by the scruff of the neck and taking them out to the beach on New Year’s Day. The last song Winter Sun was inspired by talking to someone who hadn’t lived through a winter for years -- they could afford to hop hemispheres and did. No walking along Bethels Beach to the caves on a cold winter’s day for them!"
From the Elsewhere review...
"this (album) feels more shot through with joy and acceptance of life -- and for a songwriter that happiness and domesticity are of as much value as source material as discontent. Honeysuckle Love is just plain fun is bound to be a crowd-pleaser. And Broken Lights, New Mexico (a line from which this album takes it title) is one of the most affecting ballads he has ever written. Hearing this as a farewell to their relationship, any woman would well up at this naked statement of love, defeat and gratitude."
You can read the full review here
Monday, April 14, 2014 at 02:20AM 
