New release: Beyond The Sirens (remix EP)
Release date: 24 May 2023, all streaming platforms.
5 May 2023 Bandcamp exclusive pre-release single “Where the Sirens Waited” (feat. Zoë Carides).
It’s ten years since we released our debut album Stars Turn Inside Out. We’re celebrating with (1) a gig on 2 June at the Gasoline Pony in Marrickville where we’ll play the album in full, followed by a set of more recent tunes, and (2) an EP of remixes of some of their earliest recordings, most of which are not on the album.
The 4-track EP Beyond The Sirens launches “Handy Round Here” properly into the digital domain. It’s the first co-write by Pete Marley and John Encarnação from 2009, and is as bluesy as TNS gets, with an unhinged wine-fuelled vocal from Pete, genuine floor stomping instead of bass drum by John, and some slide guitar courtesy of musical buddy Michael de la Motte.
“Beyond the Nether” is one of the stand-out tracks of Stars. It boasts a punk/new wave vibe and a strange story involving sleep deprivation. Funnily enough, the start of the song was in John’s head when he woke up one morning – he just had to follow the trail.
The Springsteen cover “Growing Up” is the first recording of our enduring line-up – Pete on bass, John on guitar, Matt Langley on keyboards and Jess Ciampa on drums. It was recorded for a Springsteen tribute for our then label, Laughing Outlaw, and we reckon it sparkles and soars.
Then there’s “Where The Sirens Waited”. An early co-write, John had all the music but no words. He sent it to Pete, who write a sea-going epic featuring whales and dolphins, a giant octopus, fishes with wings, jealous mermaids, and of course, sirens luring the protagonist to who-knows-what, performed here in an inspired cameo by Zoë Carides. It’s quite a trip, one of Pete and John’s faves.
Meanwhile, there’s accelerating progress on our fourth album, due early next year, with another single before the year is out.