The self-proclaimed King Of Pop and the newly-crowned King Of The Dudes,
Dave Graney inhabits a strange yet strangely alluring world, where The
Beatles don’t rate anywhere near Steely Dan and Marcos Valle reigns
supreme as the Brazilian Orpheus. The ex-Moodist and Coral Snake charmer
has been incredibly prolific throughout his artistic life and remains
one of the few songwriters to have maintained a flawless creative streak
for over seven years – as 2009’s Knock Yourself Out, 2010’s
Supermodified and last year’s re-recorded “greatest hits” Rock & Roll
Is Where I Hide attest. Recorded live in the studio with the incorruptible
Lurid Yellow Mist (freshly rechristened The mistLY), You’ve Been
In My Mind is yet another fantastic addition to the SA-born Melbournian’s
catalogue.
Naturally, the songs are superb: ‘Flash In The Pantz’, ‘We
Need A Champion’, ‘Cop This, Sweetly”, the weirdly
nostalgic ‘Mt Gambier Night’, the aforementioned ‘King
Of The Dudes’ and the self-effacing closer ‘I’m Not
The Guy I Tried To Be’ are all vintage DG nuggets. As ever, Graney
disperses sneering “ooh”s and lascivious “mmm”s
between his savage witticisms, all the while playing the jazziest 12-string
electric guitar since Roger McGuinn’s ‘Eight Miles High’ Coltrane-isms.
The top-notch accompaniment is likewise a familiar delight, with Clare
Moore effortlessly switching between rhythm patterns, Stu Thomas – who
might just be one of the finest white bass players in this land – maintaining
the swing, and Stu Perera taking his left-handed Rickenbacker for a walk
in areas Nels Cline has yet to tread.
Never a flash in the pan, Dave Graney again proves he isn’t the
kind of an artist who’ll be on your mind after you’ve absorbed
his tonne-weighing shtick. Instead, he’ll be in your mind. Denis Semchenko - the Brag
You’ve Been in My Mind is the first collection of
new songs in three years from Dave Graney, his partner in life and sound
Clare Moore, and their recently re-named band, The MistLY (formerly the
Lurid Yellow Mist). Not that they’ve been idle though, as that
span has seen a whole lot of gigs, the release of Graney’s first
book - acclaimed memoir 1001 Australian Nights - as well as a compilation
of re-recordings of classic Graney compositions, Rock ‘N’ Roll
is Where I Hide.
The lyrical puns still abound but otherwise there’s less novelty
on show here than in the past: the Lounge-Lizard-King-of-Pop-Dave-Graney
who won ARIAs and charmed the masses in the 1990s, with a theatrical
persona like some louche amalgam of Don Lane, Terry Southern and ‘Coney
Island Baby’-era Lou Reed, is largely absent. Graney now more comfortably
resembles a road-seasoned jazzman, exuding the philosophical gravitas
and dark humour of hard-won wisdom. Jazz sensibilities have influenced
this new music too, particularly the “blazing left-handed Rickenbacker” lines
of lead guitarist Stuart Perera, with structures and chords that shift
and twine but not at the expense of melody or focus. According to 1001
Australian Nights, Graney and Moore first met Perera when he was a young
student “into jazz players, theory, octaving and Guns N’ Roses”,
and the resonances of such remain apparent, fused with the band’s
ongoing interests in ’70s West Coast rock and art pop experimentation.
Flash in the pantz by dave graney mistLY
Self-recorded and mixed, with help from engineer Andrew “Idge” Hehir,
the performances are mostly live, not overdubbed, reassuringly-immediate
and seemingly in thrall to ’70s production values, as if Tony Visconti
was at the desk in their Brunswick studio. The piercing sustain of the
guitars is thin and trebly, while the choruses of ‘I’m Not
the Guy I Try To Be’, ‘Field Record Me’ and ‘Cop
This Sweetly’ - great titles, as usual - flow in a wash of harmonies
that could have come from Bowie and Osterburg’s own throats in
Hansa Studios in 1976; the latter track even ending with desperate yelps
like The Idiot’s ‘Funtime’.
While the first half is upbeat and mid-paced, the second drops to a slower,
dreamier cadence. Songs like ‘Playing Chicken’, ‘I’m
Not the Guy I Try to Be’ and ‘Midnight Cats’ are made
for the early hours. The spoken-word ‘Mt Gambier Nights’ is
autobiography melded with dry observation, quoting William Blake to an
evocative backdrop of staccato guitar reverb.
This is a seductive and comfortably re-playable collection of dependable
material, boding well for an extensive national tour this month. by Aaron Curran - Mess and Noise
singer,songwriter and rock’n’roll survivor barely does justice
to describe Dave Graney, the keen-eyed observer of Australian life whose
memoir “1001 australian nights” is illuminating on what its
really like as a working musician on the road that never ends. And Graney
still is working, adding to that vast catalogue of sardonic commentary
and sexy, hip shakin’ grooves. The name of the band keeps on changing
but his c-conspirators are old hands, including Clare Moore on drums
and guitarist Stuart Perera. Graneys eyebrow remains arched as he tucks
into topics such as fleeting fame (flash in the pantz) , self (I don’t
wanna know myself) and origins (the dazzling “Mt gambier Night”)
, all delivered with relish at finding he’s still making music.
An hour spent with a Graney record is an effective antitdote to popular-
culture overload. It’s proof that the world is not as stupid as
it might appear. Noel Mengel- Queensland Life
you’ve been in my mind is the 2012 album from dave
graney and the mistLY (aka the lurid yellow mist).
An album of short, whip-smart pop rock songs with lashings of ideas,
flash,wit and bounce.
That’s dave graney on electric 12 string guitar, stuart
perera on blazing left handed Rickenbacker, clare
moore on drums and stu thomas on bass, with everybody singing too.
recorded in January with engineer andrew “idge” hehir at
soundpark in Brunswick and mixed by dave graney at the ponderosa, its
the first collection of new graney songs since “knock yourself
out” in 2009.
a few words from dave…
“
this bunch of songs was recorded quickly, just the way I like it.
Its not about layers of sounds, its just the simple setup of the band
in
the room and the songs. We knew them all pretty well so every song was
put down to the machines with absolute certainty, power and poise. Its
got all the flavours and tones about music that I’ve loved.They
all came out in this session. . I guess the bedrock tone and attitude
of my music is 70s rock. That’s the west coast american sound in
the vocals and my guitar and the r&b grooves and the jazz voicings
of the chords. They are all the changes and tempos that come out of me,
naturally. Its pretty upbeat and begins with a 2:40 second song calkled
blues negative that’s over before you know it and doesn’t
let up”.
you’ve been in my mind comes out on cd with three extra tracks,
demo versions of songs as first put down by dave graney and clare moore.
The digital version of the album doesn’t have these tracks but
includes the earlier 2012 single “king of the dudes” and
two remixes of older dave graney songs, “sometimes you can see
yourself” from 2005 and “midnight to dawn” from 2005.The
latter features a cameo vocal from fellow traveller Henry wagons.
The Walter Mitty of Oz rock issues his umpteenth album;
his shtick still weighs a ton and rock'n'roll remains his hideout.
Dave Graney still lays his idiosyncratic hipster lingo over post-rock,
blues pop and jazz chords aplenty, aided and abetted by drumming partner
Clare Moore and long-term comrades, guitarist Stuart Perera and bassist
Stu Thomas.
And the erstwhile Australian king of pop still sounds like he's having
a ball, whether meowing on Midnight Cats or yelping "come on! owwww!" over
the descending riffs of Field Record Me.
Flash in the Pantz lampoons masculinity to a dirty rock groove, while
Cop This, Sweetly noodles around and then, right when you're not paying
attention, rocks out.
I Don't Want to Know Myself and Mt Gambier Nights recall the hero's Coral
Snakes era. Recorded quickly in Melbourne and then mixed by the main
man himself, You've Been in My Mind is a wonderfully unpolished affair
full of familiar themes for Graney aficionados as well as some unexpected
dimensions. SIMON COLLINS, The West Australian
The Graney has never been beholden to any fashion, bar his own. But as
the circles of style turn, there are times he gets some of the respect
he deserves. He’s again become the go-to guy when the world needs
an opinion or explanation – with a slightly-arched eyebrow – of
how the business of show is or isn’t working these days.
His music finds a fit here, too. You’ve Been In My Mind grabs a
range of moods and attitudes, for his half-spoken/half-sung words to
present the observations and mission statements. Points of reference
for the music reach back. There’s ‘60s and ‘70s soul
in here, and occasional outbreaks of blues shouting and yelping dating
further than that. There’s just enough rough edges among the smoother
grooves.
It’s not just the external he’s considering. Flash In The
Pantz is the nature of the old-style man blustering and questioning at
once. The urgent strut of that, and indeed most all the album, comes
from the necessary female element of Clare Moore’s drumming. She
is the heart and balancing conscience of it. But go to the rattling rush
of the opening Blues Negative, and she’s obviously got muscle as
well.
In We Need A Champion Graney informs at one point, over a dirty funk
of Stuart Perera’s wah-wah guitar and Stu Thomas’ bubbling
bass, seemingly lifted direct from a porn soundtrack – in a good
way. Dave’s probably not even putting himself up for the title
job, but he realises one is needed. His 30 years experience means Dave
Graney has become the man who knows. And knows more than most. Yeah. Ross Clelland
DRUM MEDIA
The
new album , "you've
been in my mind" has been sounding great in our live shows.
Its our best ever rock album, and I mean the Moodists period as well.My
favourite. Well, on par with " We wuz curious" , "hashish
and liquor" and "the devil drives"Dave
Graney
The band name may have changed – the Lurid Yellow Mist has evolved
into the mistLY – but the song remains the same, as Dave Graney
continues to shrug his shoulders at the indifference of the industry.
One song is called We Need a Champion, but Graney and his cohorts are
content to go it alone. “If that fails, that fails,” he accepts
in the stunning single, Flash in the Pantz.
Graney remains a sonic explorer, boldly going where no other Australian
artist dares. Younger artists would kill to have the energy that’s
on display here.
- Jeff JenkinYou've Been in My Mind
Dave Graney and the MistLY (Cockaigne/Fuse) ????
IN HIS recent memoir, 1001 Australian Nights, Dave Graney, post-punk
iconoclast, velvet-clad king of pop and sardonic cultural critic, explored
his pre-history as a working-class exile from country South Australia.
On his latest record, You've Been in My Mind, Graney delves further into
semi-biographical territory. There's Graney the existentialist, contemplating
identity (I'm Not the Guy I Tried to Be), the critic of the vapid world
of popular fame (Flash in the Pantz) and the adult musing on the myopic
bravado of youth (Midnight Cats). While the name of Graney's backing
band has changed, the elements remain largely the same: Clare Moore's
elegant drum fills, Stu Thomas' factory-strength bass, Stuart Perera's
wiry Rickenbacker licks, and Graney's collage of croons and James-Brown
shrieks. Graney's narrative wanders in and out of focus like a rambling
front-bar anecdote. Mojo Nixon said there was no Elvis in Michael J Fox;
there's only Dave Graney in Dave Graney. He plays Northcote's Regal Ballroom
next Friday, July 27. PATRICK EMERY - The Age
