Words by Beau Bowen.
The songs on this record are collages of my wide-ranging and intense emotions. I write by the movement and everything has to have a significance. There is very little repetition, the songs are unpredictable and that’s exciting for me.
With an epic debut album, The Great Anticlimax, fresh under his belt, we caught up with London-based Aussie artist Beau Bowen for a complete track-by-track dun-down.
The Great Anticlimax
The Great Anticlimax is a vast landscape where open atmospheric plains are invaded with punishing riffs and soaring guitar lines looking for prey. The title came from a crushing breakup, but I relate to it existentially. There’s a deep bleakness with a layer of charm and irony to it that I like.
A Rock ’n’ Roll Story
A Rock ’n’ Roll Story is an attempt to display the wide-ranging emotions of an amazing and equally as tragic love. The song is tender, it’s hateful, it’s joyous, it’s mournful. It takes you on an emotional rollercoaster that finds resolve in the final moments.
Time Is An Illusion Baby
Time Is An Illusion Baby is a firework. It’s a cathartic celebration of long hazy summer days full of sex. For me, it’s a total release of the tension built up in the first 2 songs. It’s a positive song with erect riffs and gorgeous melodies that lasts a mere 2 and a half minutes…
Cosmic Renaissance I
Cosmic Renaissance I is a sonic collision of programmed instrumentation (courtesy of Mz Poppinz) and an electric guitar plugged into vintage equipment and recorded to tape. I like the 2 polar opposite elements coming together. It’s a space to breathe.
Messianic Indulgence
Messianic Indulgence is the centrepiece of the album. A song rooted in such extreme repressed lust and longing you could describe it as “Messianic”. It plummets into a war of worlds reflecting the internal war fought on such a regular basis, and flies you through a series of wild and passionate musical environments before it’s stopped dead in its tracks. The Great Anticlimax…
Cosmic Renaissance II
Cosmic Renaissance II stems from an exploratory studio improvisation, the result is a hallucinatory guitar solo that swoops and soars.
The Life I Chose For Myself
The Life I Chose For Myself is bad for my health every day. But it’s fun! The song touches on my existential ambivalence and lazy masochism. It’s a pleasant place to wallow and bursts into rock ‘n’ roll theatre midway through.
Universe In Reverse
Universe In Reverse is the earliest composition from the album and a fitting ending to the style of song-writing this piece of music spawned. From a lone acoustic guitar, the song grows into a majestic beast, ending with a solo featuring my favourite guitar tone of the record.
Bisolar Disorder
Bisolar Disorder is a raucous full stop. It captures the energy and buzz of an on the edge gig. A carefree curtain call, until next time.
Listen to The Great Anticlimax above.
