2007 saw the triumphant resurrection of The Holy Sea as they returned from a five-year hiatus to release their acclaimed second album A Beginner’s Guide to the Sea, which saw them hailed as one of the most thoughtful and distinctive voices in the Australian musical scene.
In 2009 the band was personally invited by Nick Cave to perform at the inaugural Australian All Tomorrow’s Parties, and now late in the year, they are ready to drop their new AA-single, offering a tantalising glimpse of their forthcoming album Ghosts of the Horizon.
Bad Luck finds the band at their visceral best. Abrasive guitar and pounding pianos are offset by sweeping cello stabs in a bitter lament on love and the landscape.
Inspired by Patrick White’s 1970 novel The Vivisector, the track is rich in poetic allusions – from White, T.S. Eliot, Max Harris and Samuel Coleridge – Bad Luck is a song firmly rooted in the Australian tradition.
King of Palm Island tells the story of the 2004 death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee. Inspired by Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man, the song takes the perspective of police sergeant Chris Hurley as he attempts to justify the actions that lead to Doomadgee’s death, begging listeners for “a little love” for the difficult task of policing a remote community. He soon realises that the community owes him absolutely nothing.
Saturday 24th October
The Palais, Hepburn Springs
With Tobias Hegeveld
Saturday 31st October
The Pub , Bendigo
With Gareth Eunson [from 7pm]
Friday 6th Nov
The National Hotel, Geelong
with Capital City (WA) and Catgut Mary
Saturday 7th Nov
The East Brunswick Club, East Brunswick
with Capital City (WA), The Broadside Push
and Turn (WA)
Sunday November 8
Henry F. Skerritt (solo)
In store – Pure Pop Records Courtyard,
St Kilda
Saturday 14 Nov
The Grace Emily, Adelaide
With Matt Reiner and The Aunt Sally’s
& Sleepless
Sunday 15th Nov
The Wheatsheaf, Thebarton
4pm, 2 sets
Friday 20th Nov
Settlers Tavern, Margaret River
with Capital City
Saturday 21st Nov
The Rosemount Hotel, North Perth
with Capital City, The Painkillers & Ghost Hotel
Sunday 22nd Nov
Fremantle Arts Centre Courtyard
2pm, Holy Sea Acoustic, 2 sets
Friday 4th Dec
The Excelsior, Surry Hills
With Little Lovers & Catherine Traicos
Saturday 5th Dec
The X&Y Bar, Fortitude Valley
