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Moving on from their
delicately controlled sophomore album Second
Storey, Melbourne quartet
Art of Fighting return with their beautifully
intuitive third, Runaways.
Described by the band's
front man, Ollie Browne, as “open and relaxed”,
the songs captured
on Runawaysare a mix of introspective[‘Sycamore &
Sand'], playful, romantic,
[‘Less than an Instant'] insightful [‘Distance as
Virtue'] and brutally
honest [‘Mysteries'].
“Second Storey was
a very considered album,” Ollie recently told music
website and magazine
‘Mess & Noise'. “We spent a lot of time arranging
the parts and adding
lots of textural overdubs and little extras.”
“As a response we wanted
this one to be far more impulsive, almost as
if the songs were controlling
us and not the other way ‘round.”
Formed in 1997 by three
high school friends, including Browne and
bassist Peggy Frew,
Art of Fighting in its first incarnation quickly
released their debut
EP ‘The Very Strange Year' [1998], followed by the
‘Empty Nights' EP [1999],
both on the Half a Cow label. During this
time, the band's line
up continued to evolve, with the inclusion of
Ollie's brother Miles
Browne on guitar and keys, and drummer/multi-
instrumentalist Marty
Brown completing the line up in 2000.
Already beloved by
many, the band recorded and released their debut
album ‘Wires' on the
Trifekta label in early 2001. Highly anticipated, the
album went on to exceed
all expectations of the band's hopeful fans,
garnering considerable
critical recognitionin the process. Late 2001, an
absent Art of Fighting
made their musical presence felt at the Australian
Record Industry Awards
ceremony by taking out the ARIA for Best
Alternative Release.
‘Wires' saw Art of
Fighting connecting with international audiences also,
the band securing releases
in the US, Japan, Germany and Taiwan.
At this time Art of
Fighting embarked on their first tour of the UK and
Europe, bringing them
to the attention of former Cocteau Twin and Bella
Union label boss, Simon
Raymonde, who would later go on to release
the band's second LP
in the UK and Europe.
A prolonged break followed,
the band emerging once again in 2004
with the glorious,
aptly titled ‘Second Storey'. Carefully crafted and
obsessively detailed,
the album reveals a more mature outlook -
a slight hardening
of the youthful honesty that was characteristic of
the first album. The
depth of the band's experience delighted many;
tracks such as ‘Busted,
Broken, Forgotten', ‘Sing Song' and ‘Along
the Run' peeling away
intricate protective layers and revealing the
darker depths that
lay below.
With the remainder
of 2004 and 2005 given away to promoting
‘Second Storey' internationally
while maintaining their love affair with
Australian fans, Art
of Fighting commenced 2006 with their first trip
to Taiwan and a series
of performances where they previewed the
very beginnings of
Runaways.
Unlike previous Art
of Fighting recordings, which were carefully
prepared before entering
the studio and putting songs to tape,
Runawayscontinually
evolved throughout the recording process.
With the band happily
living ordinary lives in their home town,
the genesis of Art
of Fighting's third album involved a long and
collaborative process
which saw the four band mates relax as
they took the time
to let their new songs unfold.
With the help of engineer
Steven Schram [Ground Components]
at the Guruland and
Martin Street studios [both in Melbourne],
Art of Fighting set
about capturing their live sound on record.
Long time collaborator
Tim Whitten joined the band for mixing
in the closing stages
of 2006.
“When we play live
the sound is very stripped back, very spacious,”
says Ollie. “We wanted
to capture that as much as possible.”
“We wanted this album
to be very direct, warm and honest:
the sound of us in
a room.”
Thanks to www.messandnoise.com
Tourdates
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