While continuing a trend of difficult song titles (‘Awkward Orchid Orchard’ anyone?) The Boat People will no-doubt further confuse the expectations of those who claimed that last year’s ‘Echo Stick Guitars’ heralded an electro turn-about for the band.

New single ‘Soporific’ treads some very different terrain, sounding more like… well, you’re the music connoisseur but certainly “different from the last one” is a good start and makes the release of their third album Dearest Darkly in April an intriguing prospect.

While the word soporific may not get as much usage as LMAO, ROFL or LOL in the present day vernacular, it made it into the song at least in part due to songwriter Robin Waters’ childhood exposure to “Peter Rabbit” by Beatrix Potter.

To quote Beatrix: “It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is “soporific”. I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a rabbit. They certainly had a very soporific effect upon the Flopsy Bunnies! The Flopsy Bunnies simply stuffed lettuces. By degrees, one after another, they were overcome with slumber, and lay down in the mown grass.”

The track was recorded with Jonathon Burnside (Sleepy Jackson, Dappled Cities), John Castle (Washington) and Joe Hammond.

After tagging along with Red Riders in late 2009, The Boat People are looking forward to a headline jaunt in March to launch ‘Soporific’, which will be officially released on Feb 15th via iTunes.

They’ll also be following up on their 2009 SXSW successes, joining Paul Dempsey, Oh Mercy, Wagons, Crayon Fields and Pets With Pets to play the Melbourne launch of the SXSW Aussie BBQ for 2010. Another trip across the pacific is slated for June.