6/25/2023 0 Comments Luca brasi It’s a message that is a far cry from their earliest tracks unapologetically touting a life of “empty bottles, full hearts, and no regrets” (“Theme Song from Hq”). One hopes with the title of their next track, “Never Better,” that he has emerged on the other side of these tribulations clean and feeling, for lack of a better phrase, “never better,” but the reality is that he convinces himself that he will never be better: And maybe what I’m scared of is me In “Reeling” – over the cutting drums of Danny Flood – he makes why he undergoes these vicissitudes bluntly apparent: “I want to be someone you can depend upon,” he belts on the chorus. On their third track, “ The In-Between,” Richardson paints a graphic portrait of going through the rungs of withdrawal – falling asleep while standing up, enduring its “twitching, burning, and shaking”. To reach that balance, it requires letting go of heavy demons. “ Stay is really about trying to realize what you have, understand what is working for you, and finding acceptance and balance in that life,” Richardson mused. As such, the album serves as an introspective check on the present, requiring a look at the punk lifestyle that has in many ways bled into their lives of growing normalcy. After nearly a decade of abandon, they are no longer as young as they once were they are now edging into there 30s, some members have families, others having full-time jobs. References to their age and youth quickly prove to be a common theme throughout the album. But when his anchor is gone, and rationality tends to unhinge with the help of the bottle, and relationships fall to the wayside: Stay – Luca Brasi But reality’s a motherfucker Gripped by the lingering throes of depression, the torments of addiction, he paints love as a raw necessity – his “safety” – at keeping him anchored to normality. The track immediately blends into “Let It Slip” where Richardson sets the tone of the album with a resounding plea to his lover to return home. The album – produced via the record label Cooking Vinyl Australia with Jimmy Balderston of Ghostnote Studios and Nic White – dawns with a self-titled instrumental, “Stay:” a crescendo of wistful guitar chords and galloping drums that crash into one another. Now with Stay, the band undergoes an even deeper confrontation of addiction and depression, and after much tossing and turning, arrive at their last stage: acceptance. Like the five stages of grief, their angry musings evolved into depressive platitudes where they grappled with topics such as loneliness, loss, and suicide. Then, with their last album, Is This All We Are Going To Be (2016), their sound took a darker turn. But over time, their sound became cleaner, and with age Richardson’s vocals have surprisingly shown more range and clarity without sacrificing the angst and concision in lyricism that is indelible to punk. Back then, at less than 20 years old, that meant unapologetic individuality: their sound was more or less a curated cacophony of noise where raspy and aggressive vocals clashed and wove between thunderous drums and guitar riffs. In their earliest albums Extended Family (2007) and By A Thread (2014), the group was just experimenting with what it meant to be a punk band. The band has been together since 2007 – playing pubs across their overlooked island of Tasmania, huge festivals on mainland Australia, and touring Europe with the likes of Moose Blood and PUP. As the video concludes, she hands back his guitar with a backhanded quip: “It’s that easy, mate.” Watch: “Let it Slip” – Luca Brasiīut this album shows that their lives have been, at times, anything but. But their efforts were for naught, and eventually one of Richardson’s students, Madi Heazelwood, pushes him side and assumes the role of front woman. Assuming the role of set producers, Richardson’s Taroona students try to goad him and the rest of the band into performing like their former selves. Juxtaposing the raw guitar riffs and impassioned vocals of longing and loss, the band looks dejected and lifeless – as if this performance were another exhaustive PR stunt after years on the road. In early May, in anticipation of the release of their fourth album, Stay, Luca Brasi released a music video for the album’s opening song “Let It Slip” which takes place in the gymnasium of Taroona High, a sleepy rural high school where frontman Tyler Richardson teaches.
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