|
 Al Gore is right. Bassist BEN CHAMIE of dissonant indie four-piece PEABODY tells SIMON TOPPER that they have already been personally affected by climate change, as a drought-caused ibis infestation of Sydney is directly threatening to change his upcoming album’s track listing.
Peabody are a band facing potentially catastrophic outside forces. Admittedly, it doesn’t seem so bleak on the surface. Having just released their accomplished EP The Devil For Sympathy, with a new lineup settled in, and their third album recorded and awaiting a release next year, everything looks positive enough from the outside. The Sydney band’s even putting on a brave enough face to traverse the continent together, travelling up to Brisbane on Oct 20. However, bassist and backing vocalist Ben Chamie reveals that the universal threat of climate change has taken a particularly direct hand in messing things around for the group, already changing the track listing on their recorded but not yet released third album Prospero. According to Chamie, there’s a song on their new five-track EP which was destined to go no further, but now Peabody seem to have little choice but to include it on the album. “It’s funny, because the original plan was just the lead single from this EP (title track The Devil For Sympathy) was going on there. “But the second track Buzzard Vs Ibis has been really well received, and everyone seems to comment on it and like it, so I think we’re going to have to put that one on there as well. It’s quite funny, because it’s an odd little song.” The track Chamie’s talking about is certainly an attention-holding piece of music, an intense not-quite-three-minutes of dissonant guitar conflict building to a hoarse shouting attack of I am the ibis. In terms of creating a memorable hook and intriguing theme Buzzard Vs Ibis is a clear success, but there remains the question of what the hell it’s about. “In Sydney there’s an infestation of ibises that have come in to the city from the countryside because it’s so dry. So there’s a fuckload of ibises all around the city, including through this little backstreet of Redfern I walk through on the way to work. They’re pretty disgusting birds. In Hyde Park they’re digging out all the rubbish and eating Big Macs for lunch, so their diet is pretty terrible. I think it’s affecting them, because they can get pretty aggressive. With all these ibises around, I guess it was just a stupid kind of image, a buzzard vs an ibis, and it’s weird what songs people pick up on.” While climate change might be affecting their songwriting topics, change itself is something Peabody are used to by now. The difference in sound and style between their debut album, 2003’s pub rocking Professional Againster, and 2005’s discordant noise-haven followup The New Violence was surprising to all, but Chamie reveals that with Bluebottle Kiss’s frontman Jamie Hutchings wearing the producer badge for the third time, the upcoming Prospero is less of a sonic leap. “I think this new one is another step in the same direction, but not such a massive leap as the last one. We still have all that discordant stuff from the last record, but also a bit more melody, which harks back a bit to the first record in that sense. Lyrically it’s probably very different to both of them. “I can’t really say exactly why there was such a marked difference. It was like an ugly child – it was just born that way. There’s not much you can do about it.” PEABODY play Rics on SATURDAY OCTOBER 20. THE DEVIL FOR SYMPATHY EP is out now through Nonzero / Shock.
|
| Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged. |
|
Be first to comment on this article
