Australia’s CITY CALM DOWN have announced that their long-awaited third album, TELEVISION, will be released on 23 August. [Pre-order link: https://smarturl.it/TelevisionCCD] To coincide with the news, the Melbourne outfit have premiered their huge new single STUCK (ON THE EASTERN) on Triple J in their homeland.
STUCK (ON THE EASTERN) follows the comeback single TELEVISION, and again sees the band work with producer Burke Reid [Courtney Barnett, The Drones, Julia Jacklin] to create something remarkably present and vital.
Faster, simpler, tougher; this is CITY CALM DOWN like you’ve never heard them before. The track takes aim at rampant consumerism, our unattainable modern life dreams and the pressure of the rat race, with Melbourne’s congested Eastern Freeway being a metaphor for these broader concerns and issues.
Speaking about the track, front man Jack Bourke said: “After moving away from the city, I found myself stuck in peak hour traffic on the Eastern Freeway and was shocked that this scenario was a daily ritual. Some might say it’s a practical issue that requires a practical solution (such as building more roads) but in my view it’s more fundamental than that – it’s a symptom of our ‘aspirational culture’ where the primary aspiration is to consume. This song won’t change that, but it might make you laugh about it”.
In celebration of the album’s release, the band will be heading over to the UK and the EU for a headline tour in September. Full dates as follows with tickets on sale now via www.citycalmdown.com
SEPTEMBER
Wed 25 GLASGOW Oran Mor
Thu 26 NEWCASTLE Cluny 2
Fri 27 LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Sat 28 MANCHESTER Soup Kitchen
Mon 30 LONDON Electrowerkz
OCTOBER
Tue 01 BRUSSELS Botanique Witloofbar
Wed 02 PARIS Supersonic
Thu 03 AMSTERDAM Paradiso
Fri 04 BERLIN Privatclub
Sat 05 BERLIN Molotov Musikclub
Sun 06 COLOGNE MTC
TELEVISION is a spectacular album: short, sharp and focused. Recorded at The Grove Studios in New South Wales, it sees JACK BOURKE (vocals) SAM MULLALY (keyboards) JEREMY SONNENBERG (bass) and LEE ARMSTRONG (drums) chase something new, without hesitation or second thoughts. “After eleven years together, it felt like it was time to shake things up and really get out of our comfort zone,” says Jack.
And so CITY CALM DOWN stripped back their sound and focused their message: wake up, the world’s happening to you. Sonically, TELEVISION is a direct hit to the body, packed with punk energy and the band’s trademark emotional intensity.
“We set out to make a record that would excite us,” explains Jack. “That meant drawing on influences we grew up listening to and first excited us as kids; bands like The Clash, T Rex, Talking Heads and The Smiths, and mixing those influences with artists we’ve come to love as we’ve grown up. We’re proud of how different this record is from everything else we’ve done.”
Two albums and one EP in, CITY CALM DOWN’s accomplished songwriting has earned over 12 million streams on Spotify to date. Championed by Triple J in Australia – including a Like A Version that has generated almost half a million views on YouTube – the band’s ambitions have seen airplay on BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music plus press coverage from the likes of NME, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, Clash, Consequence Of Sound, Indie Shuffle, The Independent and many more.
The list of singles is equally impressive: SON, RABBIT RUN, WANDERING, YOUR FIX and BORDER ON CONTROL from their 2015 assured debut IN A RESTLESS HOUSE; and BLOOD, IN THIS MODERN LAND, JOAN I’M DISAPPEARING and PRIDE from 2018’s unflinching ECHOES IN BLUE.
TELEVISION TRACK LIST
- Television
- Visions Of Graceland
- Mother
- Stuck (On The Eastern)
- Lucy Bradley
- Flight
- Weatherman
- A Seat In The Trees
- New Year’s Eve
Cut The Wires