Earlier this month, Sydney’s The Tambourine Girls released their long-awaited third album, Different Streets. The band is a formidable line-up of local talent, and of course included the great, late Nick Weaver who tragically passed from cancer in 2021.
It’s a beautiful album, steeped in many influences from yesteryear. For me, there’s a love affair with the ’70s that flow through its veins, and there are also undoubted influences from more recent sound-makers such as Tom Petty and The Cure.
Of the album, the band writes: “This album has ended up representing both our finest achievements as a band and our greatest heartbreak. With our worlds turned upside down, the album froze for over a year while we grieved our best friend and tried to comprehend whether we could go on playing music without him, and what that would look like.
With the help of our extremely talented and caring friends (Simon Berckelman, Antonia Gauci, Chloe Dadd, Tony Buchen and Nick Franklin), we were able to finish the record and create a body of work that was simultaneously the best music we ever made with Nick, as well as a tribute to him.”
The songwriting is exemplary, the musicianship is sublime as they create a beautiful sonic pastiche of folk-rock, psychedelia and alt-rock. The band has a couple of shows lined up in the coming months. They are playing at The Factory on the 15th April, and the Big Chill Festival in Armidale on the 13th May. Ticket links are below.
To celebrate the release of Different Streets, The Tambourne Girls have compiled for the AU a list of their five must-listen albums. Without a doubt, this is a list of classic record.
THE TAMBOURINE GIRLS – FIVE ESSENTIAL ALBUMS
1. The Band – The Band
The Band are our band’s favourite band, and this self-titled record (their second) is a perfect album in so many ways. The music those 5 guys made represents the peak of musical expression and togetherness to us.
2. Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young has so many great records, but this is his most perfect. The band are so tight and heavy, but so restrained that every part played on this record is an instant classic. Simple, raw and fun. They didn’t even mix it after they recorded it, just straight to tape then out the door!
3. Beck – Sea Change
This is a real touchstone for us both tonally and musically. This was the first record where Beck really let the musicianship of his band shine—the eclectic production from his earlier records is gone and the vulnerability of the songwriting opens up space for subtle, masterful playing by Beck and his band.
4. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
We are always trying to copy PJ Harvey and failing, which is a great exercise in itself. ‘Plastic Eyes’ started this way—we wanted to capture the roomy, loose percussive feel of ‘The Words That Maketh Murder’. We failed and ended up somewhere completely different, but Polly Jean is always a north start for us.
5. Radiohead – In Rainbows
We often reference tracks from this album as examples of how to layer parts, add colour and intensity to tracks, or just generally make bold artistic choices. Our unofficial band slogan for moments of collective self doubt is “what would Radiohead do?”
THE TAMBOURINE GIRLS LIVE SHOWS
Saturday 15 April Factory Floor Marrickville NSW – Album Launch, Supported by The Melodrones – Tickets HERE
Saturday May 13 The Big Chill Festival Armidale NSW – Tickets HERE
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