For the last 6 months I’ve been traipsing the globe to experience different worlds, cultures, amazing food, and discover music scenes in far off lands. And guess what…I’m not done. 2012 was an amazing year.
For now though, Strum A Note and I are back ready to discover some fresh blood around Melbourne to share with you. It’s summer in Melbourne, which translates to festivals and side shows in abundance and no shortage of amazing indie artists to keep me busy, starting with Melbourne Big Day Out!
You may remember some posts ago I visited The Espy and watched local artist Mike Elrington, who belted out some amazing blues. Mike is guitarist and vocialist of Melbourne trio The Advocates, who late last year released their latest album The Way. A little remiss of me maybe to be writing about an album that has well and truly been released and received by a rock-ravenous public, but I hope better late then never.
With Roderick McLeod on skins and Oscar Lopaczuk on bass, The Advocates produce a tight mix of classic rock, blues and funk that’s very easy on the ears but possesses enough grunt to truly rock out to. The Way opens with Sway, which oozes funk on top of a toe-tapping classic rock vibe, and Mike’s booming blues/rock vocals carrying the funk-rock vibe perfectly.
Then you hit the song Angel’s Sit, which is extremely chilled, staring with soft guitar strumming leading into lovely and thoughtful lyrics, and slowly builds up into a more musically ‘beefy’ track. Versatility in an album is always refreshing and The Way does have this.
Before you know it, you’re hit with a dose of loud ‘n’ proud rock in Blood on the Highway, a track which really just made me wish I had a crowd in front of me on which to crowd surf. The album closes with Silver’s Blackened Gold, which has a unique, snappy South American-inspired beat that you can shake your booty to. It’s my personal facourite on the album.
The Advocates do plenty of gigs around Melbourne, so keep an eye out for shows; they’re soon to be playing at Cool Summer Festival in Mt Hotham on 22 February. The Way is now available on iTunes for download. https://www.facebook.com/advocatesmusic
