Whitley - Go Forth Find Mammoth

The feeling of unbridled anticipation is one of the simple pleasures that the enjoyment of music brings. It marks the beginning of a beautiful journey and a moment in time, discovering and sharing an artist’s personal reflections and thoughts through their lyrics and melodic sound. Having heard Whitley’s amazing and infectious first single “Head, First, Down” from his, then upcoming, sophomore CD “Go Forth Find Mammoth” (a month out from its official release) that anticipation was well and truly set and growing.

I first heard Whitley about 12 months earlier, performing a stripped back acoustic version of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” and what impressed me, besides his original arrangement, was his voice; a low, husky, whispering tone that put a totally different slant on that timeless pop gem. Yes, I know, ABBA that guilty pleasure much akin to the “M” word, an activity everybody participates in but no one admits to, anyway I digress. That was the last I heard of Whitley (real name Lawrence Greenwood) the 22-year-old musician who hails from Melbourne Australia, for a considerable while but it would not be the last.

“Go Forth, Find Mammoth “(released 31 October, 2009) is a beautifully crafted and addictive musical collection of folk infused pop, that takes you down a path of life’s experiences, setbacks, joys and unexpected mysteries. From the CD’s opening instrumental song “1945”, you seem instantly swept away by gorgeous ambient sounds, subliminally substituted for any lyrical content, effortlessly morphing into the second track “Poison In Our Pocket”. From here the combination of acoustic guitar (fingers plucking away up and down the fretboard) and those unmistakable Whitley vocals, take us on a hypnotic journey allowing us to reflect on times that may have once past us by. The same could be said of “Winter Warmer Sky” and “Killer” where the former acts as the perfect precursor that guides us dreamily into the latter, suddenly opening with the successive progression of catchy chords. However, in my opinion, it’s the lush vocals of Hazel Brown that completely mesmerise the listener, perfectly complementing Whitley on this track.

The sound of a rainstorm introduces (and subsequently completes) the reflective and emotionally stirring track “The Piece You Took From Me”, the interesting fact is that the sound isn’t a synthetic reproduction but an actual recording taken during a storm: - only organic additives allowed on this CD and absolutely nothing wasted. The journey ends, pretty much in the same way that it started, with the coupling of interrelated and intertwining tracks, this time “Facades I” and “Facades II”, provide a fitting closure, a moment that musically marks the end of the road and a time to appreciate.

You can’t help but listen to the stories that unfold musically before you, the entire CD is honestly “all killer with no filler”, no sub standard tracks have been inserted in a bid to flesh out its content. This being said, it’s a CD that really needs to be listened to in chronological order, otherwise you lose the sense of the intended magical and mystical journey that Whitely cleverly paves in the form of the carefully arranged track listing.

As with Silverchair, MGMT and more recently Muse, Whitley has the ability to captivate and attract alternate and mainstream listeners alike, without compromising his musical credibility. So give your ears, mind and soul an early Christmas present, “go forth” and discover this hidden gem of 2009 from a truly gifted and talented artist.

Magic Dirt - Annandale Hotel 06/11/09

“F#&%! Yeah” both articulately and succinctly describes the Magic Dirt experience, in particular to the night of November 6th at Sydney’s Annandale Hotel.

The Annandale Hotel is the Geelong garage/grunge/rock band's home away from home and tonight’s concert was always going to be something special and spiritual. The band came together to pay special tribute to their fallen band mate and co founder, Dean Turner, who passed away from a rare form of cancer a few months earlier, the night was completely sold out . This however did not for one moment mean that this special occasion was going to be a sombre affair, the band rocked, charged, blazed and owned the stage from the opening song, that’s what Dean would have wanted and the only way he knew to deliver a Magic Dirt performance.

Front women Adalita Srsen , as I have always maintained, is the most energetic, entertaining, enigmatic and charismatic female lead singer in Australia (and among the very best within the international music industry) if there is a better woman then she must be so indie, alternate, independent and underground that she’s playing a nomadic cave somewhere in the vast Australian wilderness. Adalita, rocked the stage, traversed the Annandale bar and, in a noble gesture to her hard core fans, jumped off stage into the mosh pit floor for a “meet and greet” and for a period of 5 minutes played lying on her back flanked by her adoring fans and to her credit, she never missed a chord!

Drummer Adam Robertson was totally in his own zone, watching him pound those skins with complete abandon at times he looked like he was channelling late great “skinsmen” Keith Moon and John Bonham. Sweat pouring out of him, almost in synch with the beat, his handy pack of Becks ensured a source of quick liquid replenishment. Guitarist Raul was amped for a huge night, from the time of warming up he was ready to give all and he did, enjoyment personified, rock jamming guitar licks a plenty and he didn’t wane for a second throughout the hour and a half set. Matt Sonic, who replaced Dean, did so with much grace and conviction, a long time friend of Dean’s there was no one more fitting and capable to fill that role, he was solid and did Dean proud.

The setlist, handpicked by the band, primarily consisted of songs that were special to Dean, which meant that they pretty much spanned Magic Dirt’s entire back catalogue and also resulted in the band playing songs like “Snow White”, which by their own admission, had not been played in a long while. For die hard fans this was a definite bonus and they lapped it up with complete insatiable gusto, which drove Adalita into a further rock inspired frenzy. Other Deans favourites that were cranked to the max were ”Dirty Jeans”, “Vulcanella”, “White Boy” and “All My Crushes”, to name just a few.


There was a brief pause about a third of the way into the night where the band stopped to honour Dean. In a hearted felt speech by Adalita, which had the crowd applauding for several minutes before she could continue, she was openly moved by this gesture, then continuing in an emotional epilogue honouring her cofounder and dear friend. A beautiful moment complemented by an ambience and an audience that was engaged in the moment.

As Adalita eluded to earlier on, the night belonged to Dean and the incredible legacy he left behind, through Magic Dirt, his music will live for a considerably long time, an amazing band, an unforgettable night and a heartfelt goodbye… Dirty Jeans forever.