Jamie Hutchings, the former frontperson for Sydney alt-rock outfit Bluebottle Kiss, will release his sixth solo album, A New, on Friday, 13th October. The latest single, ‘Roustabout’, is one of our favourite local releases of the month. In anticipation of the record’s release, Music Feeds is premiering the video for ‘Roustabout’ – which is not, in fact, an Elvis Presley cover.
Jamie Hutchings – ‘Roustabout’
Prior to going solo, Hutchings recorded six albums as the singer and primary songwriter in Bluebottle Kiss. He’s also made a few albums with Infinity Broke, produced records for Mark Moldre, and teamed up with Peter Fenton of Crow for one album as The Tall Grass.
Despite such considerable output, the creation of A New was full of surprises. “Making this album was a little like cooking, or perhaps painting,” Hutchings told Music Feeds. “I was building much of it myself, so it was hard to know exactly what it would be until it arrived.”
This ad hoc method was particularly true of ‘Roustabout’. “I liked the idea of a symphonic yet garage-y production aesthetic,” Hutchings said. “So there’s the Ronettes beat in the chorus, some sped-up nylon string guitar, plenty of simulated spring reverb and some fantastic ABBA-flavoured tack-style piano from Tim Kevin.”
There’s even a ukulele in the mix. “The song, like much of the album, has a springtime feeling. It’s windy but budding and colourful, both in tone and in the lyrical content.”
Hutchings’ long-time collaborator Mark Moldre is responsible for the song’s music video, which features the artist’s childhood teddy bear, Simon. “He was recently salvaged from my parents’ house after many decades in the wilderness of their cupboards,” Hutchings said. “Mark referred to him by name throughout the whole process, so by the closing scene we were all pretty bonded to him.”
Get your hands on A New right here.
Further Reading
Bluebottle Kiss: Where Have They Been For the Last 15 Years?
