While many modern musicians grasp at inspiration from the 60s and the 70s, a much smaller cohort manages to take that golden era and make it their own. It’s the philosophy of Melbourne up-and-comers The Lovely Days, who drop their new single Mornington today.
Combining brightly lit guitar tones with syncopated melodies and percussion so crisp it could deflect bullets, it’s a track which doesn’t simply pick and choose at what’s been done before, rather taking those foundations laid by the past and building a monumental structure upon them.
Bright, bouncy and brimming with old-school inspiration, The Lovely Days bring you the best of the past and more on Mornington.
Mornington was mixed by Eric J (Flume, Chet Faker) and marks the first taste of The Lovely Days’ upcoming EP Arms Wide Open, due for US release on May 19th and Aussie release on June 2nd.
If the rest of the EP is anywhere near as sunny, catchy and positively addictive as Mornington is, we’re in for a treat indeed.
Mornington opens with a guitar line straight out of the greatest INXS jams your mum danced to, a riff which soon fades into the background to be replaced by more carefully chosen interjections. The vocals bounce off this base, The Lovely Days showing an astounding aptitude for catchy hooks and balanced harmonies.
The percussion is simple, driving the song like the engine room of a freight train. Special mention goes to the fill which punctuates the end of the song – that phaser was dirty enough to make Kevin Parker cry.
Catch The Lovely Days around town next month on their Arms Wide Open EP tour. Find the dates below and head to the band’s Facebook page for the finer details.
June 14 – Bar Open, Fitzroy (EP Launch)
June 17 – The Exeter Hotel, Adelaide
June 22 – Oxford Art Factory Gallery, Sydney
June 23 – Vic on the Park, Sydney
