Melbourne folk-pop masters Playwrite have just unveiled their debut album and it’s a stunning lesson in how to craft intelligent, moving folk gems.
Three long years in the making, the album, titled Cathedrals, was formed alongside the guiding hand of producer Jimi Maroudas (Kimbra, Eskimo Joe, Bertie Blackman) and brings together eleven songs spanning the band’s evolution over the past five years.
From spine shivering moments of delicacy to the sweeping and soaring vocals of lead singer Jordan White, the music of Cathedrals perfectly illuminates the darkness behind the songwriting.
In 2009, lead guitarist Patrick Holcombe’s parents passed away defending their home in the Black Saturday bushfires. Much of the songwriting is drawn from the band’s dealing with this loss and grief, a theme that was also explored in the moving video to their single ‘Animals Housed’.
To celebrate the release of Cathedrals, the band have kindly given us a track by track run down of the record which you can check out below. If you like what you’re hearing pop by the band’s Facebook page for more info on upcoming shows.
Dogs
Dogs was initially a bit more of a rock song but one rehearsal we decided to play it through a cappella and it took on this really dark vibe that we ended up liking more. (Patrick Holcombe)
Little Ark
This song was written 4 years ago after Elizabeth St in the city flooded. It was surreal seeing something so familiar completely transformed. It was such a visceral reminder of how we take the environment for granted. (Patrick Holcombe)
Lady Oracle
Is about not never having enough time to say goodbye to someone you love. It’s about trying to connect to a larger perspective in order to cope and justify loss. (Jordan White)
Millennial Deer
This song is about irrepressible joy. About connecting with something ancient and primal and letting it overwhelm you. (Patrick Holcombe)
Black Cloud
After the Fukushima nuclear disaster I remember feeling so powerless to help the people who had been affected. Going through the Black Saturday fires had shown me what it was like to have your home turned into an alien landscape. (Patrick Holcombe)
Drivers Seat
Was written about the sandy hook shootings that took place in the US. I had extremely vivid dreams that night and this song was the result. (Jordan White)
Whittaker
Tony Abbot was treating the most vulnerable people in our country like they were less than human. There was general anger but also there was still complacency. Its easy to feel like some things are too big to change. This is the track that Elbow heard when they asked us to tour with them. (Patrick Holcombe)
Rivers
I went through a period of having many of my family members pass away in unrelated tragic circumstances. For a while it felt like one by one our whole family was going to disappear. (Patrick Holcombe)
Roots into the Tree
When I was 19 I hitchhiked around the USA for a year. I was able to tap into this unreserved wonder and joy for long periods of time and Roots is about catching glimpses of that as I get older. (Patrick Holcombe)
Animals Housed
This is the first song I brought to the band. It was written after feeling like we were losing touch with our more instinctual natures and spending too much time actively trying to critique and improve ourselves. (Patrick Holcombe)
Young God
I love the journey this song goes on. I find it hypnotic and when we finished it we all felt straight away that it should finish the album. (Patrick Holcombe)
‘Cathedrals’ Album Launch
Shadow Electric Bandroom
The Abbotsford Convent
Friday, November 27
