Tag Archives: Melbourne

11.30.20
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Supervene – Weeping Desire

Compared to some, my lockdown lot has been a lucky one. It’s hardly been a chore to be stuck here in Spain whilst the world goes mad around me. I do feel desperately sad for my Leicester-based friends who’ve not had much of a break from this since March. England’s forgotten city and my adopted hometown has undoubtedly had it bad and yet I bet the people of Leicester still have some sympathy for those in Melbourne, Australia. By all accounts, Friday was something of a day of celebration there as they emerged from one of the most draconian lockdowns the globe has seen. 

I didn’t know that the Melbourne one had been so fierce. This year has closed our borders and our interests have got more parochial. There might be a global pandemic going on but we only want to know about the R rate in our own localities. Our horizons shrink as our tears are drawn. 

I only found out about the Melbourne lockdown when chatting  with Supervene about their latest video and single, Weeping Desire.

“We have just finished one of the longest and toughest Lockdowns in the world.“, they said. “It could have all been avoided as the Victorian government bungled the International Quarantine and caused the spread of infection. This has been causing us to weep for 5 months in lockdown ! “

Initially I thought that Supervene were being overly-dramatic about their own lot (the Rock band privilege) until I randomly read a BBC news article backing it all up.

“The streets were completely deserted. It was like something out of [post-apocalyptic film] Mad Max,” said a certain Mr Lanigan, who owns the cafe Lucky Penny on the iconic shopping strip.

Supervene suggest that Weeping Desire was completed just before Lockdown. If true. they might add fortune telling to their list of skills. There’s an anger that simmers within, controlled and bubbling until the shit just gets too much. And I guess the message here is that it’s OK to lose it from time to time if the alternative is breakdown in lockdown.

The Who (the band not the organisation) were at their best when their rants were forceful and their riffs driven. Supervene draw upon this essence to give us some quality Classic Rock to kick off the week. Throw those plant pots against the wall and worry not about the consequence.

 
01.25.16
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Ben Abraham – You And Me

I must be yearning for Australia; maybe it’s these cold and dark wintry mornings that’s pushing my thoughts towards the Southern Hemisphere. This’ll be my second post in a row featuring an Australian act.

I’m quite charmed by this song and video from Melbourne based, Ben Abraham. ‘You And Me’ is taken from Ben’s soon to be released first album, Sirens, which is due out in early March.

On initial listen, I’m ashamed to admit that I very nearly didn’t perservere beyond the opening verse. This felt like one of those heart-wrenchers that might throw out bland cliches and, in the process, spectacularly fail to connect with the heart-wrenching that will inevitably be going on in my life. In truth, it’s actually a bit more considered than all of that. 

Yes, it does seem to be about a relationship that hasn’t lasted the distance; a love that was once so right that is now so wrong. I’m sure that we’ve all been there. Ben captures those melancholic moments when we inevitably mourn and moan about such things with consummate humanity and ease. I guess that he’s an expert in such grief.

Even if the song’s not for you, do give this video your time. The final, lingering shot is pure cinematic beauty. 

 

As a special Monday bonus, here’s another track from Ben’s album. ‘Home’ is just Ben; his voice and his guitar plucking. There’s the same mournful, missing you, tone to this lyric, even though, unlike in ‘You And Me’, the relationship is not yet dead and buried, more ‘on hold’ , miles apart with travelling complications.