Havilah (album)

Last updated

Havilah
Havilah.jpg
Studio album by
The Drones
Released20 September 2008 (2008-09-20)
RecordedApril 2008
StudioRunning Creek, Myrtleford (Victoria)
Genre
Length53:23
Label ATP/MGM
Producer
The Drones chronology
Live at the Annandale Hotel 18th, 19 October 2007
(2008)		Havilah
(2008)		A Thousand Mistakes
(2011)
Singles from Havilah
  1. "The Minotaur"
    Released: 29 July 2008

Havilah is the fourth studio album by Australian alternative rockers, the Drones, which was released by ATP Recordings/MGM Distribution in September 2008. It was co-produced by the group with Burke Reid and issued in February 2009 for the United Kingdom and United States markets. The title refers to a biblical town of the same name – "a Shangri-La-esque place with an abundance of gold" – and is the valley 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Myrtleford, where they recorded.

Contents

At the J Awards of 2008, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year. [1] In 2011, it would be voted by the band's contemporaries & "industry experts" as the 38th best Australian album of all time.

Background

Havilah was recorded in April 2008 by the Drones at the mud-brick home of their bass guitarist, Fiona Kitschin, and lead singer, Gareth Liddiard. [2] [3] It is located 20 km (12 mi) east of Myrtleford at the base of Victoria's Mount Buffalo. [2] Liddiard reflected:

It's like a little world unto itself in the forest. It's a beautiful place. You can't always find a good spot to record, but if you can find a house like this that's a bonus. [4] It was a great place to write and record. We were literally in the middle of a sub-alpine forest. We had no electricity, just diesel generators. It'd be just about the only record made on a diesel budget. [3]

Dan Luscombe, the lead guitarist, explained its title, "Havilah is the name of the town where we recorded the album… our nearest neighbour was 4 km away. In fact, this Victorian town was once a gold rush town populated with thousands of people just before the turn of the 20th century. It is now fitted out with about 30 people, and on this note, touches of Australian history are filling this album before we have even heard it."

The album was produced and engineered by Burke Reid (The Mess Hall, Gerling) who set up his portable ProTools studio, the Running Creek Studios, in their home, powered by a diesel engine. [2] [3]

Content and composition

The music on the album has been described as being influenced by "30 years of left-field rock heroics (the Birthday Party, Sonic Youth, the noisiest bits of Neil Young)" [5] as well as "fellow Aussies Nick Cave and The Triffids' late David McComb" [6]

To shake up his lyric writing, Liddiard was reading four books at once, and using internet packages to jumble words and create unimaginable phrases – similar to the labour intensive "cut up" techniques employed by writer William S. Burroughs and singer David Bowie in the pre-Internet era, where they cut up words on paper and jumbled them up: [7]

I made a conscious effort to put my head in the sand. You start working, you have a coffee in the morning, and any self-doubt falls away.

According to The Guardian , the lyrics on the album consist of "allegorical tales of Minotaurs, cargo cults and slow-creep apocalypse" [5] with many tracks dealing with topics such as "marital woes" ("The Drifting Housewife" [8] ) and "emptiness" ("Careful As You Go") [9]

Release

The first single from the album, "The Minotaur", was released ahead of the album in July 2008. [10] Havilah debuted at No. 47 on the ARIA Albums Chart. [11]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 7.4/10 [12]
Metacritic 77/100 [13]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Mondosonoro 8/10 [16]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Ox-Fanzine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [18]
Pitchfork 7.7/10 [8]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Tiny Mix Tapes Disc Plain red.svgDisc Plain red.svgDisc Plain red.svgDisc Plain red.svgDisc Plain red.svg [19]

National

The Age 's Patrick Donovan observed, "the band's angry cacophony has partly given way to a cleaner, more upbeat sound with more melody and narrative-based songs... Elsewhere, the band's country influences come to the fore, as well as the cleaner playing of new guitarist Dan Luscombe... [they] may have mellowed a bit, but they're no less engaging."

International

On Metacritic, the album has a "metascore" of 77 based on 15 reviews, implying a "generally favorable" critical reception, [13] whilst it has a score of 7.4 out of 10 on the review aggregator AnyDecentMusic? based on 11 reviews. [12]

Tom Hughes of The Guardian called it an "outstanding record, and one with endless pleasures and pains to be wrung out of it" calling Liddiard "one of the few rock lyricists worth paying real attention to" adding that "he's a vocalist like no other, [...] his melodic ear never better than here". [5] Tiny Mix Tapes called the album "more humblingly [sic] good music at a time when rock music is more about being it’s-all-been-done humble", bemoaning their lack of popularity and adding that theirs "is the sound you need to get for right now, and it’s built to last well past that.". [19] Dan Draper of PopMatters wrote that the album finds the band "older, more bitter, and better than ever" calling Liddiard "one of those lyricists whose words have the weight of poetry" [9] Ned Raggett of AllMusic rated it at four-out-of-five stars and explained, "[they] have grown a touch more polished and focused with time, it's not at the expense of creating compelling music – if anything, [this album] even more clearly places the band as one of Australia's best rock bands ever." [14] Joe Colly of Pitchfork writes that "They're traditional in the way Black Lips are-- straightforward instrumentation, a healthy nod to the past-- but manage to dodge the pitfalls of revisionism with an unusual mixture of brute force, bleak lyrical content, and singer Gareth Liddiard's distinctive caterwaul. (Dude can impressively shift from a bark to a shriek to a roar in one solitary breath.) [...Listening to the album] is like making it through a powerful-but-disturbing film". [8]

More mixed reviews came from Q who said it was a "little too heavily indebted to fellow Aussies Nick Cave and The Triffids' late David McComb, even if that's not a bad place to be coming form." [6] Prefix magazine described it as "thickset blues rock" that "makes for opaque and impenetrable listening" decrying their perceived lack of innovation (in comparison to acts such as Women and Abe Vigoda) and their inability to "wallow in the same gloriously gloomy lows as, say, Come’s Eleven:Eleven or Neil Young's On the Beach " comparing the music to the "mid level depress-o-rock that The Smashing Pumpkins have been peddling on-and-off for the best part of two decades" and criticizing Liddiard's lyrics as "too often uninspired, and seemingly torn from a notebook full of juvenilia that should have been stuffed in the back of a firmly locked closet" despite being "witty" at parts [20]

Awards and nominations

Havilah was one of 12 nominees at the J Awards of 2008 for Album of the Year. [21] It was also nominated for the Australian Music Prize of 2008 (losing out to Primary Colours by Eddy Current Suppression Ring), making it the band's third nomination for the prize since its inauguration in 2005.

Accolades

PublicationCountryYearAccoladeRank
The Age Australia2008The year that was (Craig Mathieson)1 [22]
Inpress Australia2008Top 10 Albums of 20084 [23]
SputnikmusicUS2008Staff's Top 50 Albums of 200814 [24]
The Guardian UK2009Critics' poll 200942 [25]
Triple J Australia2011Hottest 100 Australian Albums of all Time38 [26]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gareth Liddiard, Mike Noga, Dan Luscombe and Fiona Kitschin, [27] unless otherwise noted.

Havilah Australian release (ATPRCD31)
No.TitleLength
1."Nail It Down"6:53
2."The Minotaur"3:25
3."The Drifting Housewife"4:01
4."I Am the Supercargo" (Liddiard, Luscombe)6:20
5."Careful as You Go" (Liddiard, Luscombe, Kitschin)5:02
6."Oh My"4:43
7."Cold and Sober" (Liddiard)5:05
8."Luck in Odd Numbers"8:36
9."Penumbra" (Liddiard)3:53
10."Your Acting's Like the End of the World"5:21

Personnel

The Drones
Recording details

Charts

Chart (2008)Peak
position
ARIA Albums Chart [28] 47

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Drones (Australian band)</span> Australian band

The Drones were an Australian rock band, formed in Perth by mainstay lead vocalist and guitarist Gareth Liddiard in 1997. Fiona Kitschin, his domestic partner, joined on bass guitar and vocals in 2002. Other long-term members include Rui Pereira on bass guitar and then lead guitar; Mike Noga on drums, vocals, harmonica and percussion; and Dan Luscombe on lead guitar, vocals and keyboards. Their second album, Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By, won the inaugural Australian Music Prize. In October 2010 their third studio album, Gala Mill was listed at No. 21 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums. Two of their albums have reached the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart, I See Seaweed and Feelin Kinda Free. The group went on hiatus in December 2016 with Kitschin and Liddiard forming a new group, Tropical Fuck Storm, in the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Kelly (musician)</span> Australian musician

Daniel O Kelly, known as Dan Kelly, is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has released music as part of Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males.

<i>Gala Mill</i> 2006 studio album by The Drones

Gala Mill is the third studio album by Australian band the Drones, which was released in September 2006. Recorded in an abandoned mill in Tasmania, it was their last album to feature founding member Rui Pereira and the first to feature Mike Noga on drums. The music, which makes "an epic leap beyond garage rock", adds influences from folk rock and contemporary folk music to their usual punk blues style. Gareth Liddiard's lyrics for the album are centered more on Australia's colonial and recent history, evident in tracks such as "Jezebel", "Words From The Executioner To Alexander Pearce" and "Sixteen Straws".

<i>Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By</i> 2005 studio album by The Drones

Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By is the second album released by the Drones. Recorded "100% live", the album draws influence from the likes of Neil Young and Rowland S. Howard, though it has been described by lead singer/guitarist Gareth Liddiard himself as a punk rock album. The lyrics, penned by Liddiard deal with issues such as death, depression and alcoholism in its depiction of Australian working class life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Liddiard</span> Australian musician

Gareth Liddiard is an Australian musician, best known as a founding member of both The Drones and Tropical Fuck Storm. Musically active since 1997, he has also released a solo album titled Strange Tourist in 2010. In 2021, Liddiard recorded and performed live with Jim White of the Dirty Three and Chris Abrahams of The Necks as Springtime.

<i>The Millers Daughter</i> (album) 2005 compilation album by The Drones

The Miller's Daughter is a compilation album released by Perth band The Drones. The album compiles outtakes from the band's first two full-length releases and their first few non-album singles.

<i>Here Come the Lies</i> 2002 studio album by The Drones

Here Come the Lies is the debut album released by Perth band The Drones.

<i>Live in Spaceland</i> 2007 live album by The Drones

Spaceland Presents – The Drones , or Live in Spaceland, is the first live album by Australian alternative rockers, the Drones, which was released in February 2007 via the American label, Spaceland Recordings. Its ten tracks were recorded at Spaceland, an alternative rock/indie rock nightclub in the Silver Lake neighbourhood of Los Angeles, on 15 November 2006, as part of NME's Wednesday night concert series. The band performed without a setlist.

<i>Live at the Annandale Hotel 18th, 19th October 2007</i> 2008 live album by The Drones

The Drones performed for two nights at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney, Australia in October 2007. Both nights were recorded with the intention of releasing a limited live album. Live at the Annandale Hotel 18th, 19th October 2007 is the first in a series of live albums produced by the Annandale Hotel music venue. This vinyl-exclusive release was limited to 250 hand-numbered, autographed copies.

Robert Francis Cranny is a musician, songwriter and record producer based in Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bands and accompanying musicians of Paul Kelly</span>

Paul Kelly is an Australian rock musician. He started his career in 1974 in Hobart, Tasmania and has performed as a solo artist, in bands as a member or has led bands named after himself. Some backing bands recorded their own material under alternate names, Professor Ratbaggy and Stardust Five, with Kelly as an individual member. As of September 2017, Paul Kelly's current band members are Cameron Bruce on keyboards and piano, Vika and Linda Bull on backing vocals and lead vocals, his nephew Dan Kelly on lead guitar and backing vocals, Peter Luscombe on drums and Bill McDonald on bass guitar.

Burke Reid is an Australian–Canadian record producer/musician.

<i>I See Seaweed</i> 2013 studio album by The Drones

I See Seaweed is the fifth studio album by Australian band The Drones, released in March 2013. The album marked the first appearance of Steve Hesketh on keyboards and the last appearance of drummer Mike Noga. Recorded by the band themselves inside a "demountable classroom from the '60s", the music on the album is more dynamic, darker and "expansive" in comparison to previous albums, while Liddiard's poetic lyrics were regarded as being more "universal" and humorous in exploring topics such as climate change, free will, conservative politics, socioeconomic issues, existentialism and the human condition in general. The song "How to See Through Fog" was released as the album's only single in early 2013.

<i>Feelin Kinda Free</i> 2016 studio album by The Drones

Feelin Kinda Free is the sixth studio album from Australian band The Drones, and their final one before going on hiatus. Having grown tired with the more rock-oriented sound of the band up until that point, frontman Gareth Liddiard became fascinated with both vintage and modern electronic equipment - ranging from drum machines and samplers to the Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizer - in conceiving the album's sound. Its genre-defying musical style has been described as visceral and ominous, featuring a relative absence of guitars and a prominent use of electronic textures. Its sessions also marked the first appearance of drummer Christian Strybosch since 2005's Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical Fuck Storm</span> Australian band

Tropical Fuck Storm are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed by Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin from The Drones. Lauren Hammel, from the band High Tension, plays drums, and Erica Dunn, from the bands Mod Con, Harmony, and Palm Springs, plays guitars, keyboards, and other instruments. Their sound is characterised by elements of art punk, noise rock and experimental rock.

<i>A Laughing Death in Meatspace</i> 2018 studio album by Tropical Fuck Storm

A Laughing Death in Meatspace is the debut album of Melbourne-based supergroup Tropical Fuck Storm, formed by members of The Drones, Palm Springs and High Tension. The band, wishing to step away from the more rock-centric sound that The Drones were known for prior to their final pre-hiatus album Feelin Kinda Free, utilized a range of obscure digital guitar effects, synthesizers, drum machines, and DAW software such as ProTools to create the music. Finished less than eight months after their first few live performances, the speed at which the album was recorded also had a heavy influence on its idiosyncratic sound, which combines genres such as punk blues, art punk, psychedelic rock and noise rock with influences from pop and electronic music. Written by Liddiard with contributions from other members, the lyrics have been described as apocalyptic and darkly humorous; tackling subjects such as technological advancement, political polarization, socioeconomic inequality, xenophobia, culture wars and many others. The album title links a Silicon Valley slang for the physical world with the neurodegenerative disorder of kuru found in the Fore people of Papua New Guinea.

<i>Strange Tourist</i> Gareth Liddiard album

Strange Tourist is the debut studio album from The Drones and Tropical Fuck Storm frontman Gareth Liddiard. The album was recorded inside Blackburn Castle in New South Wales over the first half of 2010, and was produced with the help of Burke Reid. Its minimal, "austere" and "meandering" acoustic songs instrumentally consist entirely of Liddiard's guitar-playing, and are topped with his versatile and heavily-accented vocals. Exploring themes such as isolation, jealousy, guilt, colonialism, wartime collaborationism, radicalism and many others, its detailed, narrative-based lyrics have been characterized as "dark and grinding", and are set in various periods of time as well as locations.

<i>Braindrops</i> 2019 studio album by Tropical Fuck Storm

Braindrops is the second studio album by Australian supergroup Tropical Fuck Storm. It was released on 23 August 2019 through Flightless Records in Australia and Joyful Noise Recordings worldwide.

<i>Deep States</i> 2021 studio album by Tropical Fuck Storm

Deep States is the third studio album by Australian group Tropical Fuck Storm. It was released on 20 August 2021 through Joyful Noise Recordings. Recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the recording process for the album was unconventional and involved heavy experimentation. The music features a range of diverse influences and has been variously labelled as art rock, noise rock and psychedelic rock. Lyrically, the album deals with the social and emotional impact of the pandemic, with many songs also diving into subjects such as conspiracy theories, social media polarization, corruption, death and occasionally even feature science fiction themes.

<i>Springtime</i> (Springtime album) 2021 studio album by Springtime

Springtime is the eponymous debut album from Australian supergroup Springtime, consisting of Gareth Liddiard, Chris Abrahams and Jim White. Recorded over 15 days at Liddiard's home studio in Nagambie, the largely-improvised album features lyrics from his uncle Ian Duhig, in addition to a Will Oldham cover and a reworking of a track by The Drones. It was released in Australia through TFS Records and in the US through Joyful Noise Recordings to largely positive reviews.

References

  1. ↑ "2008 J Awards". ABC. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Donovan, Patrick (26 September 2008). "A country harvest". The Age . Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 DemonAndrew (15 September 2008). "The Drones". FasterLouder. The Sound Alliance. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Havilah album news". ATP Recordings. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Hughes, Tom (17 December 2009). "The Drones: Havilah - CD review". The Guardian.
  6. 1 2 3 Q Magazine: March 2009, page 105
  7. ↑ Ryan, Peter. "The Drones Triumph". Music Australia Guide. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Drones: Havilah". Pitchfork.
  9. 1 2 3 "The Drones: Havilah". PopMatters. 10 February 2009.
  10. ↑ "The Drones New Single – The Minotaur". Hot Source. 10 July 2008. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  11. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discography The Drones". Australian Charts Portal. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Havilah by The Drones reviews | Any Decent Music". anydecentmusic.com.
  13. 1 2 "Havilah by The Drones". Metacritic.
  14. 1 2 "Havilah – The Drones Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  15. ↑ Mojo Magazine: March 2009, page 110
  16. ↑ "The Drones - Havilah". Mondosonoro . 24 February 2009.
  17. ↑ "Album review: The Drones". Nme.com.
  18. ↑ Matilda Gould. "Havilah". Ox-Fanzine (in German). Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  19. 1 2 "The Drones - Havilah | MUSIC REVIEWS | Tiny Mix Tapes". Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  20. ↑ "The Drones - Havilah Album Review". Prefixmag.com.
  21. ↑ "J Awards – 2008 Nominations". Triple J (Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)). Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  22. ↑ "The year that was". The Age. 24 December 2008.
  23. ↑ "The Old Acclaimed Music Forum". pub37.bravenet.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  24. ↑ "Acclaimed Music". Acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  25. ↑ "Critics' poll 2009: the year's best albums numbers 11 - 50". Theguardian.com. 11 December 2009.
  26. ↑ "Industry Results | triple j". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 January 2011.
  27. ↑ "'Nail It Down' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 30 April 2018. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' &/or 'Performer:'
  28. ↑ "australian-charts.com - Discography The Drones". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.