“Puts a musical punch right in the belly of pop mediocrity” – Peter Cobbin, Senior Engineer, Abbey Road Studios.
2008 was a busy year for Melbourne trio The Basics; they toured relentlessly to some of the most remote outback areas Australia has to offer, making new friends and fans in high schools, indigenous communities, community centres and pubs and clubs along the way.
2009 already promises to be a huge year for the band. To kick things off, their new single With This Ship will be released on Tuesday 22 February, in Australia on cd single and limited edition 7" vinyl, and worldwide on iTunes.
With This Ship is something of a musical map, charting the often unpredictable and tumultuous ocean of relationships. It illustrates the hope-filled struggle of fighting against the tide of personal history, but also the hopelessness sometimes encountered when trying to mend rifts in relationships ravaged by hurt and time.
But fear not. The Basics’ lush vocal harmonies will lift you over the swirling symphony of stormy guitars and lay you softly on the shore.
With This Ship heralds a significant new direction for The Basics. While retaining the band’s trademark three-part harmonies, they are forging a bold path towards an altogether unexplored musical landscape.
Armed with an epic video clip (think Tim Burton does Yellow Submarine via a Monty Python haze), With This Ship sets a new benchmark in Australian video animation. The clip was directed and animated by Matt Arnold, and produced by Josh Butt.
Mixed by Peter Cobbin (U2, The Beatles’ Anthology, Lord of the Rings) at the famed Abbey Road Studios in London, and featuring production contributions from prominent New York-based engineer Michael Brauer (Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, Bob Dylan, John Mayer), and local wizard Francois Tetaz (Architecture In Helsinki, Lior, Gotye) The Basics are certainly keeping good company.