Melbourne’s The Hunter Express return this week with their new EP Gold Fades, a beautifully considered five-track collection that moves through love, grief and resilience while allowing the band plenty of room to explore sonically. We’re thrilled to premiere Gold Fades today ahead of its release this Friday, 2 October.
There’s a wonderful cohesiveness to the record despite those emotional shifts. At its heart is Brad Ellis’ extraordinary songwriting. These are songs drawn from lived experiences, from appreciating the people closest to you to witnessing domestic violence and navigating the ongoing, unpredictable nature of grief.
We were fortunate enough to premiere EP opener “Over Everything” back in July, a track that begins with Ellis’ emotive vocals and guitar before gradually expanding as the rest of the band enters the frame. It was the first taste of Gold Fades, followed by “May” and, most recently, the considerably darker “Easier”.
Hearing those songs now within the context of the complete EP makes the breadth of Gold Fades much clearer. “Lead Light” is beautifully dreamy and unhurried, while “Easier” brings synths and a heavier edge to the record. “May” is perhaps its emotional centrepiece, with Ellis reflecting on the death of his father from cancer in 2017 and imagining the possibility of travelling back to spend another day with him.
The closing title track strips everything back. Recorded on the final day in the studio with Ellis on guitar and vocals, Ronan Nicholson on piano and Gormie on drums, “Gold Fades” was captured in a single take with just a handful of microphones around the room. It embodies the rawness and intimacy of this fabulous record.
There’s plenty to love across Gold Fades. It’s gentle and intimate, with beautiful musicianship. It never gets weighed down by its subject matter, with the shifts in texture and intensity giving the record plenty of light amongst the shade. It was recorded with producer Gormie (Angie McMahon, Stella Mozgawa).
We’re delighted to give you your first listen to Gold Fades below. And to help take us through the stories behind the record, Brad has given us a track-by-track account of its creation. So do crank it up, press <play> and read on.
The Hunter Express – Over Everything – Track by track
“Over Everything”
The song came together relatively easy. I had been working at a studio in the city song writing. For a number of weeks I would travel down in the morning, write and record short demos, then later in the afternoon the rest of the band would meet and go through my ideas. I remember I had a very small song idea recorded in my phone, from there I wrote most of the song in about an hour. Jarrad Brown who plays bass in the band helped with the arrangement which shaped the song as you hear it today.
“Lead Light”
This song was originally quite fast in tempo. However as I began to craft the lyrics it was really clear it had to be dreamy, chill and therefore a little slower. The song is about finding the time to enjoy the moments with the ones you love. The sounds in this song sits so perfectly with the lyrics. My favourite part is close to the end where the music just takes off after the last few lyrics. It’s like traveling through space or something.
“Easier”
“Easier” is one of the heavy songs on the EP. Lots of synth. The vocals are completely live on this one. Originally the recording was pretty full of instruments, however when we came to mix it we stripped it back, made some space and I think that’s what makes the song. The lyrics are important to me. I had someone close go through domestic violence and I only ever wanted life to get easier for them. I hope it connects with others.
“May”
The song “May” tells a story about heading back in time to spend another day with my father. He passed away from cancer in 2017. Over the years I have written many songs to do with my Dad. However I love this one the most. My favourite lyric in this song is “So I’ll keep dreaming, cause every dream is freeing. I’ll take a breathe and keep breathing”. Grief gets you at any moment, it can even place a presence around you without you being fully aware. It might be days or weeks later you realise that’s what it was. “Hey May, back in time” is the outro on this one, yelling it out, getting it all out sometimes makes me feel better.
“Gold Fades”
This song was recorded on the final day at the studio. I had written most of this song a few years back, however I felt it was never really what I wanted. During the recording of the EP I spent a few evenings working on this song. I finished it on the final day of recording. The recording set up was super simple. This was just one take, I played guitar and sang. Ronan played piano and Gormie played drums. Only a few mics around the room, I don’t really think there was any better way to capture it then how we did it. I wanted it sounding real and raw, and that’s what we got.
You can give The Hunter Express a follow on Instagram and Spotify
