Exclusive Single Premiere: Blackbirds FC “Transport Planes” (2021)

Blackbirds FC

Melbourne’s Blackbirds FC create beautifully layered lush sonic journeys, telling their stories with warm vocals. “Transport Planes” is the latest track to drop from the band, and we are delighted to be premiering it prior to its release on Friday. A full-length album is due early in 2022.

The jangly guitars and keyboards are joyfully interlaced with the vibrant melody, boosted by the solid rhythm section.  The harmonies between lead singer Jeremy Gronow and Gina Hearnden elevate the track. It has a warmth and finesse that makes you nostalgic for some of the great Australian bands of yesteryear. The Church springs to mind, but it’s also for fans of The Chills, R.E.M and Prefab Sprout for starters.

The track grabs you from the opening line, “I can hear the transport planes flying to Tasmania…”.

Jeremy explains the background to the song:  “‘Transport Planes’ is about that liminal space between sleep and waking, dreaming and thinking. The other day for example, I was in bed dozing between alarms when there was an earthquake in Melbourne – I remember feeling the bed shaking back and forth and thinking ‘Ah, we’re having an earthquake’ and then closing my eyes again.”

It often takes a number of tangential ideas to put a song together and “Transport Planes” was one of these. The song has its roots in a childhood memory of hearing an aeroplane fly over the house most nights about midnight. It was propellor driven and seemed very low and loud as it flew over me but I found it comforting. I asked Dad and he said it was a transport plane flying to Tasmania which gave me the first line.

“Years later I was lying in bed in the midst of a relationship break up and listening to all these things happening around me – trucks passing, the couple upstairs going at it and so forth – and the rest of the song came.”

“I did some reading and found that sounds seems louder and travels further at night because they bounce off the layers of cold air and back to the ground and that became the bridge, so this song is all bad love and science.”

The band initially started out as an acoustic folk outfit. After releasing their debut EP in 2018, they added a bass, Julien Chick and drums, Phil Campbell. Growing to a six-piece has naturally swelled their sound and morphed it into what is today.

The track was recorded, mixed and mastered by Cam McKenzie at Station Place Studios, Glenhuntly.

 

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Bruce Baker

Probably riding my bike, taking photos and/or at a gig. Insta: @bruce_a_baker