WHILE the whole world was going mad in March 2020, Xavier Rudd and his family were blissfully unaware.
The Australian folk and blues star was holidaying off the grid in remote Cape York, camping and fishing and getting back to nature as the world locked down.
"We were on a trip to the Cape and the wind was blowing too hard to take the tinnie out to the island," Rudd said. "As I contemplated everything in my life and what was happening in the world there was a strong south-easter blowing, all the time. It felt like a wind of change, literally, in so many ways."
Unlike the majority of artists, COVID had little impact on Rudd's career. The pandemic coincided with a planned break and the birth of his son Jundi in December 2020.
"I'd planned to take a year off anyway, the first time in 20 years I hadn't done an overseas circuit," he said. "I had a chance to reset and change a few things around, to reassess where I was at, musically and practically. I've been able to experiment with some new ideas and new sounds."
The experiment with new sounds led to Rudd's 10th album Jan Juc Moon, named after where he grew up in regional Victoria. The album features a mix of synths and R'n'B beats (Ball and Chain), as well as Rudd's traditional blues-folk sound (We Deserve To Dream).
Xavier Rudd returns to the Civic Theatre on Friday night.
HEAVIER HEART
EAT Your Heart Out frontwoman Caitlin Henry has promised the Newcastle band's first new music in over three years will be among their heaviest.
The single Down is released on Friday and will be launched later that night at the Cambridge Hotel in the alternative band's first hometown show since January 2020.
Down and Eat Your Heart Out's forthcoming second album were recorded last November over five weeks at an Airbnb studio in the Hunter Valley.
"It's definitely one of the heavier and rockier songs we've ever done," Henry said. "I think we all really enjoy that vibe. We played it on our tour of Europe and it's definitely one of our favourite songs to play live. It really gets people moving."
Last month Eat Your Heart Out completed their first European tour, supporting US band Tiny Moving Parts. The tour also served as a farewell to guitarist Andrew Anderson.
Henry said it was sad to lose Anderson, but the band respected his decision to focus on life outside music.
"It's been the five of us for 10 years and always been just the five of us with no other members," she said.
Friends will fill in at Eat Your Heart Out shows until a permanent new guitarist is found.
"We're not rushing to fill Andrew's spot with an official member, but we have plenty of friends and musos around us happy to fill that spot as a touring member for the time being," Henry said.
WELL? RUNS DEEP
NEWCASTLE psych-rock band Well? joke they're cursed. Last Friday's show to launch their new single Fractured was the fifth time in the band's history that extenuating circumstances, such as COVID, have interrupted their gigs.
However, it's had little impact on the band's momentum. Well? last month won a battle of the bands at the Cambridge earning a video clip package from Tommirock Studios valued at $5000 and they finished third in the University Of Newcastle comp.
Fractured is the band's first single since expanding to a five-piece in March, with India Seddon-Callaghan (vocals) and Lachie Knowles (keys) joining Taylan Bragg (guitar), Andrew Gray (bass, synths) and Duncan Brown (drums).
"I had played with everyone before in different projects [India & The Journey To The East, Viragos], apart from Andy [Gray], but it fell together perfectly because we all meshed together musically and had the same visions and ideas for the future."
Well? had already released a series of dark psych singles such as After, Trapped and Braindead, but the addition of Seddon-Callaghan has taken the band to another level.
Fractured - which sounds like a cross between Wolfmother and early Tame Impala - was inspired by the corrosive nature of political advertising, as seen in last month's Federal Election campaign.
"It's a critique of political advertising and the buying out of journalism," Gray said. "The lyrics had been written for a year, but it started before this election cycle and it's pretty easy to see the flaws in it and that's where Fractured comes from."
Well? play their next show at the Lass O'Gowrie Hotel on June 25, followed an appearance at PigSty in July at Dashville on July 2.
WHITLAMS POUR ANOTHER NIGHTCAP
WHEN The Whitlams released their third album Eternal Nightcap in 1997 it's sophisticated piano sound sat in complete juxtaposition to the alternative rock that dominated.
Yet the album spawned the unlikeliest of triple j Hottest 100 winners in No Aphrodisiac and broke Tim Freedman and co into the mainstream.
To celebrate 25 years since the album's release The Whitlams are performing the Eternal Nightcap album in its entirety.
The album's other notable tracks include You Sound Like Louis Burdett and Melbourne. Despite the album's popularity The Whitlams have only performed the record in full on several occasions.
Fellow '90s rockers Custard will join The Whitlams at their Newcastle Civic Theatre show on September 8.
