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Known for the exuberant life of their melodies and the vibrant sincerity in their colloquial storytelling, The Gypsy Scholars are back with a new single, Daydream Author. Far from the piratey whimsy and heart-tugging Looking Glass, we have a song that throws the band straight, along the lines of Creedence Clearwater Revival, interspersed with a 60s tinged bridge that keeps the song from being straight out hard and fast rock and roll, but given a little more scope and feeling. It’s a fine choice for a band to inject their early catalogue with.
Seeping with 60s folk soul and unmistakable chemistry, Daydream Author is an exciting step forward for Canberra’s The Gypsy Scholars, one that will see them reap the benefits.
With a sonic arsenal comprised of ukulele, mandolin, bass, rousing voices and plenty of heart, these four Canberra boys are rapidly gaining attention. Their Balcony TV appearance sent them off like a bullet and was what led to their being added to the list at the 2015 Lost Paradise festival. This kind of success is perhaps a little surprising given that this band was formed out of simple jam sessions. But that kind of relaxed, comfortable, improvisational spirit informs their unique sound and gives their music a feeling that is in turn fun and unpredictable.
Daydream Author, reminiscent of Fogerty at his best, delivering a song about uncertainty and hope, dreams and decisions, with shades of the Beatles heard briefly, before we are toppled back into that unmistakable American rock sound, brought to life via Canberra boys.
While the band is described as folk, and for their use of instruments alone it might fit the bill, this release goes further in exploring what folk music really is about. Folk has always, in its essence, been about exploration, whether that be with subject matter or instrumentation and crucial to it the element of storytelling; reflecting through poetic use of language or simply candour, on life’s secret moments and nameless feelings. On what makes us who we are and where we hope to go.
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The Gypsy Scholars remind us of that innovative quality, of good story telling and the importance of the folk genre in what it represents. These guys breathe fresh life into that, with a young at heart and easy going chemistry between them, which seeps out of the speakers and, if witnessed live, translates as honest and real. Humble, talented, the real deal, they’re expressing something new via one of modern music’s oldest and more time honoured genres; the Scholars have an exciting journey ahead.
The Gypsy Scholars are about to hit the road too. You can catch them at these dates:
April 7th – Sydney @ Brighton Up Bar
April 22nd – Canberra @ Polish Club
April 30th – Melbourne @ Reverence Hotel
May 5th – Bathurst @ Charles Sturt University
May 18th – Wollongong @ RAD Bar
