Members
Sean McMahon
Michael Hubbard
Josh Duiker
Brendan McMahon
Search newherenowlive.com for Downhills Home Biography
“Exiled on main street, lost in big pink and enthroned in the gilded palace of sin.” While Melbourne
5 piece Downhills Home may have a solid grasp on 60's and 70's psychedelic country rock and a
love for the classic folk songsmiths of the era, there’s an undeniable authenticity in their music, an
authenticity matched by very few bands in the country today.
Their debut album “Minor Birds’(independent, MGM) was released to critical acclaim and was voted in the best Aussie releases for 2007 in Rhythms magazine's readers and writers poll. The Australian gave it 4/5 stars, Inpress gave them ‘single of the week’ for ‘To Make Light Of Our Load’, and Beat magazine described it as ‘an album of utterly compelling beauty” (Patrick Emery).
The end of 2008 saw Downhills Home hectically navigating between two national tours, one with American rock stars The Dandy Warhols, having been hand picked by the band themselves.
On return the band headed to the studio to complete their follow up album, 'the Wolves In The Woods'.
Recorded over a week at Guruland Studios, 'Wolves In The Woods' was tracked mostly live to tape with the help of engineer Dave Manton (Matt Walker, Luluc) with additional guitar and keyboard overdubs providing the songs with rich and varied textures. This is highlighted from the very start with the opening track ‘Travelling Light’. Building from a basic introduction of guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, the song moves into a long descending chorus line orchestrated with violin, viola and mellotron which opens up the vast sonic field in which the rest of the songs on the album are brought to life. In addition to more ambitious orchestration and arrangements, the album still retains the raw and earthy quality that characterised the band’s first album ‘Minor Birds’. Tracks such as Only of the Flesh, At least My Luck and When you think that I’m Wrong use minimal overdubs and capture the band in an essentially live setting. The album also features some very special guests, Laura Jean (vocals on 'Over And Out'), Mia Dyson (vocals on 'When You Think I'm Wrong') and Jen Anderson (fiddle on 'Wandering Eyes' & 'Travelling Light').
Stylistically 'Wolves in the Woods' is a progression towards a tighter and more focused sound, with songwriters Sean McMahon & Michael Hubbard leaning slightly away from the twangy tones and more traditional song structures that featured on 'Minor Birds'. You can hear this progression in the song ‘Pluto’s Blues’, the first single to be lifted from the album.
Check it out at www.downhillshome.com or www.myspace.com/downhillshome
or download it from itunes.
Downhills Home Website:
http://www.downhillshome.com Downhills Home Releases
Minor Birds
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