It’s fair to say the debut LP from Melbourne synth/ alt pop crew City Calm Down City Calm Down has been a long time coming. Titled In A Restless House, the record is out this Friday the 6th via I Oh You.
After dropping an attention capturing EP back in 2012, the obvious progression for any young band would be to quickly piece together a debut full-length and take advantage of the momentum. However, City Calm Down are nothing if not considered, rather than rushing their craft, opted to venture into an extended hibernation period, in which they bunkered down for over three years… tinkering away and honing their sound with 70+ demos until they eventually surfaced with this record.
To get a better idea of what to expect from this record we chatted with the band’s Jack Bourke about some of the records that influenced him in the making of In A Restless House, check them out below and visit www.citycalmdown.com for more info.
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
2009, Warp
Although this album was released in 2009, I normally come back to it every six months or so. Great vocals, great guitar, great writing.
But, the thing that makes this album extra special is the way their drummer (Christopher Bear) plays his parts in such an orchestrated and musical manner and takes such a melodic approach to writing drum parts.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
2011, Fat Possum Records
I really enjoyed UMO’s first album and really took a lot from the way they construct their songs.
On first listen their songs seem quite simple but when you break them down a bit more you find these small songwriting easter eggs that really pushes their sound to an interesting place.
Seekae – The Worry
2014, Future Classic
I’d never really listened to Seekae before this album and when I heard it, it instantly made my ears perk up.
From a production side of things, Seekae are creating some really original sounds. The same goes for the harmony that they use, which can be quite dissonant at times. Their +Dome record is also a great record.
The War on Drugs – Lost In The Dream
2014, Secretly Canadian
This album exhibits such understated synth work and incredible melodic phrasing.
A couple of us managed to catch their show when they were in Melbourne and it’s always a nice feeling when an artist sounds as good/better than the album you have been obsessing over for the past few months.
Nils Frahm – Felt
2011, Erased Tapes
The first I heard of Nils Frahm was a video of him playing live on KEXP. I’m sure that anyone that has heard his music or seen him play live has found it hard to react in a way other than sheer disbelief.
‘More’ would be my favourite track off this album and it really is quite a journey. Frahm is a master musician and a master composer.
In A Restless House is out this Friday, visit www.citycalmdown.com for more info.
