INTERVIEW: Davey Lane is a Guitar-Wielding Man of the Cloth
Starting with the recent single and sumptuous piece of Neil Finn-esque pop Over, Over & Out, Lane explains that the song, like its parent album, is demonstrative of a comfort he's developed with allowing his foundational influences to show through. While there can be a sensitivity or even stigma among some musicians when using sounds established by artists that have become the bedrock of contemporary music, Lane's at ease with not trying to reinvent the wheel.
'When I was younger and started making my own records, I thought, okay, I'm going to make a concerted effort to embrace new influences that've been percolating in my head. Nothing I make is going to sound like You Am I or The Beatles,' he explains. 'But eventually I thought, who cares? That's in my blood 'til the day I die, so why deny it? I'm now mature enough not to worry about stuff like that, and while I really hope people enjoy the record, I'm making it for my own creative satisfaction as well.'
I don't think Lane should harbour too many concerns about whether listeners will enjoy his latest effort. 'Finally, A Party Record' is a highly rewarding and richly layered exploration of his musical identity, and despite the impressive variety of sounds on offer, the whole feels more cohesive than it might in a lesser musician's hands. From sleek synths that call to mind the neon skyline of '80s Miami to biting guitars that echo The Replacements, the album wears its influences on its sleeve. Yet, it never approaches the derivative. In fact, it's a fantastic example of one of pop music's great traditions: pairing catchy melodies and soaring musicality with deeply personal and, at times, dark lyrics.
'I try to write positive, upbeat songs, and you know what? That's hard. It's fucking hard.'
'I can't do it without feeling disingenuous,' Lane laughs with a hint of self-deprecation. 'So if I get into that zone where I'm feeling anger or whatever, I'd rather write a song than say something I might regret.'
This approach has served Lane well across his new 10-song collection, whether it helped realise the boy-girl dynamics of Absent Lover, the beautiful yet heart-wrenching despair of God, I'm Fucked Up Over You, or Remedies' potent sense of isolation, acutely expressed in the lyric 'How clearer can I say that I am not okay?'
When it comes to the latter of these, Lane reveals the song was written while he was enduring Melbourne's notorious COVID-19 lockdowns: 'Like a lot of people, I was at a point where I was just drinking all day. Any time I see a picture from around then (not that a lot of pictures were being taken at the time), I look ruddy and puffed up, because what the fuck else was there to do? So the song is about that. There have been other songs on vices that are certainly more profound or articulate, but this is just another one of them.'
Remedies is a better song than Lane gives himself credit for, although it's arguably overshadowed by the track that follows, If It Can Rain, It'll Rain. Closing out the album, it starts as a grand slice of '60s pop—something like an Australian sibling to The Beatles' A Day in the Life—before transforming halfway through to become a glorious, bittersweet singalong that's utterly infectious.
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The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
Spooky new Aussie mystery will have you hooked
A little spooky, a little mysterious and a lot of intrigue - Playing Gracie Darling is the next Aussie show to have you hooked. We open with a group of teens playing with a ouija board in a dark old shack. They seem to be conversing with a spirit of some sort, before one of them starts seizing. Cut to 30 years later, and those teens have grown up. Well, all except one, who's been missing since 1994 - Gracie Darling. Joni (Morgana O'Reilly, The White Lotus) is now a child psychologist, and she's called back to her old hometown when another Darling girl goes missing. She speaks with a girl who was with the missing Darling that night, and finds out they had been 'playing Gracie Darling' - a Talk To Me-esque game where local bored teens attempt to summon the spirit of the missing teenager from three decades ago. Coming back into town brings up a lot of memories for Joni, especially when she's around all her old friends, including Jay (Rudi Dharmalingam), who is now a police officer. The show is well-acted, well-paced and has a solid heaping of intrigue to keep you on your toes and desperate to get to the next episode. You'll also spend each episode wondering if this show is actually supernatural or if the paranormal activity is all in their heads? The cast also includes Harriet Walter, Celia Pacquola, Annie Maynard and Dan Spielman. Like The Last Anniversary, Playing Gracie Darling is also set around the Hawkesbury River, which is turning into quite the filming destination for Aussie TV. Netflix's altogether ookiest show is back with the return of Jenna Ortega's Wednesday. Four episodes have been released, constituting the first half of the second season; the rest is set to drop on September 3. This time around Wednesday's younger brother Pugsley (a significantly taller Isaac Ordonez) is joining her at Nevermore Academy, and parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman) are sticking around too. There's several new faces this year, starting with Principal Dort (a spritely Steve Buscemi), Wednesday superfan Agnes (an impressive Evie Templeton), new music teacher Miss Capri (Billie Piper) and Grandmama (a delightful Joanna Lumley). There's also plenty of appearances from familiar faces like Christopher Lloyd (who was Fester Addams in the 90s), Thandiwe Newton, Heather Matarazzo, Anthony Michael Hall, Haley Joel Osment and Frances O'Connor. While this season still has plenty of panache and the casting and performances are all perfect (especially Fred Armisen as Fester, who is the high point of this first half of the season), Wednesday is suffering from a style-over-substance issue. Perhaps because we only get part of the season, the narrative feels much weaker than it did in the show's dynamic debut, and some storylines seem to distract from rather than flesh out the core plot. There's nothing here that's as instantly iconic as Wednesday's season one dance sequence, but there are fun sequences still. One of the best moments of this half season is Miss Capri and Morticia's beautiful campfire duet of Bad Moon Rising. If you've seen Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, then you basically already know this story. The crime drama lifted liberally from the details of this real-life heist for its lacklustre sequel, but reality is more interesting than fiction here. This doco covers the heist of at least $100 million worth of diamonds and other valuables from the diamond district in Antwerp in 2003. It's a fascinating case, told through unobtrusive reenactments and interviews with police who investigated the case, and even one of the criminals involved. As much a study of the crime itself as a character piece on one of the Italian men behind the heist (it is fascinating to watch him edit the story in real time to make himself less complicit), Stolen: Heist of the Century is a great way to pass an hour and a half. It's genuinely hard to believe this crime, which feels highly cinematic in nature, was actually commited. Outlander fans rejoice! The beloved epic romance series' spin-off Blood of My Blood has arrived on Stan. The series serves as a prequel to Jamie and Claire's story, and follows their respective parents' love stories. Episodes are dropping weekly. AppleTV+'s comedy series with Seth Rogen and Aussie Rose Byrne, Platonic, is back for season two, with episodes arriving weekly. In the mood for some Spanish black comedy? HBO Max has Rage, a show following five middle-aged women reaching their limits. Over on Prime Video you'll find a new buddy (kinda) cop comedy, The Pickup with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson. A little spooky, a little mysterious and a lot of intrigue - Playing Gracie Darling is the next Aussie show to have you hooked. We open with a group of teens playing with a ouija board in a dark old shack. They seem to be conversing with a spirit of some sort, before one of them starts seizing. Cut to 30 years later, and those teens have grown up. Well, all except one, who's been missing since 1994 - Gracie Darling. Joni (Morgana O'Reilly, The White Lotus) is now a child psychologist, and she's called back to her old hometown when another Darling girl goes missing. She speaks with a girl who was with the missing Darling that night, and finds out they had been 'playing Gracie Darling' - a Talk To Me-esque game where local bored teens attempt to summon the spirit of the missing teenager from three decades ago. Coming back into town brings up a lot of memories for Joni, especially when she's around all her old friends, including Jay (Rudi Dharmalingam), who is now a police officer. The show is well-acted, well-paced and has a solid heaping of intrigue to keep you on your toes and desperate to get to the next episode. You'll also spend each episode wondering if this show is actually supernatural or if the paranormal activity is all in their heads? The cast also includes Harriet Walter, Celia Pacquola, Annie Maynard and Dan Spielman. Like The Last Anniversary, Playing Gracie Darling is also set around the Hawkesbury River, which is turning into quite the filming destination for Aussie TV. Netflix's altogether ookiest show is back with the return of Jenna Ortega's Wednesday. Four episodes have been released, constituting the first half of the second season; the rest is set to drop on September 3. This time around Wednesday's younger brother Pugsley (a significantly taller Isaac Ordonez) is joining her at Nevermore Academy, and parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman) are sticking around too. There's several new faces this year, starting with Principal Dort (a spritely Steve Buscemi), Wednesday superfan Agnes (an impressive Evie Templeton), new music teacher Miss Capri (Billie Piper) and Grandmama (a delightful Joanna Lumley). There's also plenty of appearances from familiar faces like Christopher Lloyd (who was Fester Addams in the 90s), Thandiwe Newton, Heather Matarazzo, Anthony Michael Hall, Haley Joel Osment and Frances O'Connor. While this season still has plenty of panache and the casting and performances are all perfect (especially Fred Armisen as Fester, who is the high point of this first half of the season), Wednesday is suffering from a style-over-substance issue. Perhaps because we only get part of the season, the narrative feels much weaker than it did in the show's dynamic debut, and some storylines seem to distract from rather than flesh out the core plot. There's nothing here that's as instantly iconic as Wednesday's season one dance sequence, but there are fun sequences still. One of the best moments of this half season is Miss Capri and Morticia's beautiful campfire duet of Bad Moon Rising. If you've seen Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, then you basically already know this story. The crime drama lifted liberally from the details of this real-life heist for its lacklustre sequel, but reality is more interesting than fiction here. This doco covers the heist of at least $100 million worth of diamonds and other valuables from the diamond district in Antwerp in 2003. It's a fascinating case, told through unobtrusive reenactments and interviews with police who investigated the case, and even one of the criminals involved. As much a study of the crime itself as a character piece on one of the Italian men behind the heist (it is fascinating to watch him edit the story in real time to make himself less complicit), Stolen: Heist of the Century is a great way to pass an hour and a half. It's genuinely hard to believe this crime, which feels highly cinematic in nature, was actually commited. Outlander fans rejoice! The beloved epic romance series' spin-off Blood of My Blood has arrived on Stan. The series serves as a prequel to Jamie and Claire's story, and follows their respective parents' love stories. Episodes are dropping weekly. AppleTV+'s comedy series with Seth Rogen and Aussie Rose Byrne, Platonic, is back for season two, with episodes arriving weekly. In the mood for some Spanish black comedy? HBO Max has Rage, a show following five middle-aged women reaching their limits. Over on Prime Video you'll find a new buddy (kinda) cop comedy, The Pickup with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson. A little spooky, a little mysterious and a lot of intrigue - Playing Gracie Darling is the next Aussie show to have you hooked. We open with a group of teens playing with a ouija board in a dark old shack. They seem to be conversing with a spirit of some sort, before one of them starts seizing. Cut to 30 years later, and those teens have grown up. Well, all except one, who's been missing since 1994 - Gracie Darling. Joni (Morgana O'Reilly, The White Lotus) is now a child psychologist, and she's called back to her old hometown when another Darling girl goes missing. She speaks with a girl who was with the missing Darling that night, and finds out they had been 'playing Gracie Darling' - a Talk To Me-esque game where local bored teens attempt to summon the spirit of the missing teenager from three decades ago. Coming back into town brings up a lot of memories for Joni, especially when she's around all her old friends, including Jay (Rudi Dharmalingam), who is now a police officer. The show is well-acted, well-paced and has a solid heaping of intrigue to keep you on your toes and desperate to get to the next episode. You'll also spend each episode wondering if this show is actually supernatural or if the paranormal activity is all in their heads? The cast also includes Harriet Walter, Celia Pacquola, Annie Maynard and Dan Spielman. Like The Last Anniversary, Playing Gracie Darling is also set around the Hawkesbury River, which is turning into quite the filming destination for Aussie TV. Netflix's altogether ookiest show is back with the return of Jenna Ortega's Wednesday. Four episodes have been released, constituting the first half of the second season; the rest is set to drop on September 3. This time around Wednesday's younger brother Pugsley (a significantly taller Isaac Ordonez) is joining her at Nevermore Academy, and parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman) are sticking around too. There's several new faces this year, starting with Principal Dort (a spritely Steve Buscemi), Wednesday superfan Agnes (an impressive Evie Templeton), new music teacher Miss Capri (Billie Piper) and Grandmama (a delightful Joanna Lumley). There's also plenty of appearances from familiar faces like Christopher Lloyd (who was Fester Addams in the 90s), Thandiwe Newton, Heather Matarazzo, Anthony Michael Hall, Haley Joel Osment and Frances O'Connor. While this season still has plenty of panache and the casting and performances are all perfect (especially Fred Armisen as Fester, who is the high point of this first half of the season), Wednesday is suffering from a style-over-substance issue. Perhaps because we only get part of the season, the narrative feels much weaker than it did in the show's dynamic debut, and some storylines seem to distract from rather than flesh out the core plot. There's nothing here that's as instantly iconic as Wednesday's season one dance sequence, but there are fun sequences still. One of the best moments of this half season is Miss Capri and Morticia's beautiful campfire duet of Bad Moon Rising. If you've seen Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, then you basically already know this story. The crime drama lifted liberally from the details of this real-life heist for its lacklustre sequel, but reality is more interesting than fiction here. This doco covers the heist of at least $100 million worth of diamonds and other valuables from the diamond district in Antwerp in 2003. It's a fascinating case, told through unobtrusive reenactments and interviews with police who investigated the case, and even one of the criminals involved. As much a study of the crime itself as a character piece on one of the Italian men behind the heist (it is fascinating to watch him edit the story in real time to make himself less complicit), Stolen: Heist of the Century is a great way to pass an hour and a half. It's genuinely hard to believe this crime, which feels highly cinematic in nature, was actually commited. Outlander fans rejoice! The beloved epic romance series' spin-off Blood of My Blood has arrived on Stan. The series serves as a prequel to Jamie and Claire's story, and follows their respective parents' love stories. Episodes are dropping weekly. AppleTV+'s comedy series with Seth Rogen and Aussie Rose Byrne, Platonic, is back for season two, with episodes arriving weekly. In the mood for some Spanish black comedy? HBO Max has Rage, a show following five middle-aged women reaching their limits. Over on Prime Video you'll find a new buddy (kinda) cop comedy, The Pickup with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson. A little spooky, a little mysterious and a lot of intrigue - Playing Gracie Darling is the next Aussie show to have you hooked. We open with a group of teens playing with a ouija board in a dark old shack. They seem to be conversing with a spirit of some sort, before one of them starts seizing. Cut to 30 years later, and those teens have grown up. Well, all except one, who's been missing since 1994 - Gracie Darling. Joni (Morgana O'Reilly, The White Lotus) is now a child psychologist, and she's called back to her old hometown when another Darling girl goes missing. She speaks with a girl who was with the missing Darling that night, and finds out they had been 'playing Gracie Darling' - a Talk To Me-esque game where local bored teens attempt to summon the spirit of the missing teenager from three decades ago. Coming back into town brings up a lot of memories for Joni, especially when she's around all her old friends, including Jay (Rudi Dharmalingam), who is now a police officer. The show is well-acted, well-paced and has a solid heaping of intrigue to keep you on your toes and desperate to get to the next episode. You'll also spend each episode wondering if this show is actually supernatural or if the paranormal activity is all in their heads? The cast also includes Harriet Walter, Celia Pacquola, Annie Maynard and Dan Spielman. Like The Last Anniversary, Playing Gracie Darling is also set around the Hawkesbury River, which is turning into quite the filming destination for Aussie TV. Netflix's altogether ookiest show is back with the return of Jenna Ortega's Wednesday. Four episodes have been released, constituting the first half of the second season; the rest is set to drop on September 3. This time around Wednesday's younger brother Pugsley (a significantly taller Isaac Ordonez) is joining her at Nevermore Academy, and parents Morticia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Gomez (Luis Guzman) are sticking around too. There's several new faces this year, starting with Principal Dort (a spritely Steve Buscemi), Wednesday superfan Agnes (an impressive Evie Templeton), new music teacher Miss Capri (Billie Piper) and Grandmama (a delightful Joanna Lumley). There's also plenty of appearances from familiar faces like Christopher Lloyd (who was Fester Addams in the 90s), Thandiwe Newton, Heather Matarazzo, Anthony Michael Hall, Haley Joel Osment and Frances O'Connor. While this season still has plenty of panache and the casting and performances are all perfect (especially Fred Armisen as Fester, who is the high point of this first half of the season), Wednesday is suffering from a style-over-substance issue. Perhaps because we only get part of the season, the narrative feels much weaker than it did in the show's dynamic debut, and some storylines seem to distract from rather than flesh out the core plot. There's nothing here that's as instantly iconic as Wednesday's season one dance sequence, but there are fun sequences still. One of the best moments of this half season is Miss Capri and Morticia's beautiful campfire duet of Bad Moon Rising. If you've seen Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, then you basically already know this story. The crime drama lifted liberally from the details of this real-life heist for its lacklustre sequel, but reality is more interesting than fiction here. This doco covers the heist of at least $100 million worth of diamonds and other valuables from the diamond district in Antwerp in 2003. It's a fascinating case, told through unobtrusive reenactments and interviews with police who investigated the case, and even one of the criminals involved. As much a study of the crime itself as a character piece on one of the Italian men behind the heist (it is fascinating to watch him edit the story in real time to make himself less complicit), Stolen: Heist of the Century is a great way to pass an hour and a half. It's genuinely hard to believe this crime, which feels highly cinematic in nature, was actually commited. Outlander fans rejoice! The beloved epic romance series' spin-off Blood of My Blood has arrived on Stan. The series serves as a prequel to Jamie and Claire's story, and follows their respective parents' love stories. Episodes are dropping weekly. AppleTV+'s comedy series with Seth Rogen and Aussie Rose Byrne, Platonic, is back for season two, with episodes arriving weekly. In the mood for some Spanish black comedy? HBO Max has Rage, a show following five middle-aged women reaching their limits. Over on Prime Video you'll find a new buddy (kinda) cop comedy, The Pickup with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson.
Man of Many
a day ago
- Man of Many
INTERVIEW: Davey Lane is a Guitar-Wielding Man of the Cloth
It's My Party & I'll Cry If I Want To Starting with the recent single and sumptuous piece of Neil Finn-esque pop Over, Over & Out, Lane explains that the song, like its parent album, is demonstrative of a comfort he's developed with allowing his foundational influences to show through. While there can be a sensitivity or even stigma among some musicians when using sounds established by artists that have become the bedrock of contemporary music, Lane's at ease with not trying to reinvent the wheel. 'When I was younger and started making my own records, I thought, okay, I'm going to make a concerted effort to embrace new influences that've been percolating in my head. Nothing I make is going to sound like You Am I or The Beatles,' he explains. 'But eventually I thought, who cares? That's in my blood 'til the day I die, so why deny it? I'm now mature enough not to worry about stuff like that, and while I really hope people enjoy the record, I'm making it for my own creative satisfaction as well.' I don't think Lane should harbour too many concerns about whether listeners will enjoy his latest effort. 'Finally, A Party Record' is a highly rewarding and richly layered exploration of his musical identity, and despite the impressive variety of sounds on offer, the whole feels more cohesive than it might in a lesser musician's hands. From sleek synths that call to mind the neon skyline of '80s Miami to biting guitars that echo The Replacements, the album wears its influences on its sleeve. Yet, it never approaches the derivative. In fact, it's a fantastic example of one of pop music's great traditions: pairing catchy melodies and soaring musicality with deeply personal and, at times, dark lyrics. 'I try to write positive, upbeat songs, and you know what? That's hard. It's fucking hard.' 'I can't do it without feeling disingenuous,' Lane laughs with a hint of self-deprecation. 'So if I get into that zone where I'm feeling anger or whatever, I'd rather write a song than say something I might regret.' This approach has served Lane well across his new 10-song collection, whether it helped realise the boy-girl dynamics of Absent Lover, the beautiful yet heart-wrenching despair of God, I'm Fucked Up Over You, or Remedies' potent sense of isolation, acutely expressed in the lyric 'How clearer can I say that I am not okay?' When it comes to the latter of these, Lane reveals the song was written while he was enduring Melbourne's notorious COVID-19 lockdowns: 'Like a lot of people, I was at a point where I was just drinking all day. Any time I see a picture from around then (not that a lot of pictures were being taken at the time), I look ruddy and puffed up, because what the fuck else was there to do? So the song is about that. There have been other songs on vices that are certainly more profound or articulate, but this is just another one of them.' Remedies is a better song than Lane gives himself credit for, although it's arguably overshadowed by the track that follows, If It Can Rain, It'll Rain. Closing out the album, it starts as a grand slice of '60s pop—something like an Australian sibling to The Beatles' A Day in the Life—before transforming halfway through to become a glorious, bittersweet singalong that's utterly infectious.
9 News
3 days ago
- 9 News
Today in History - August 13: Backlash to rock star's Jesus remark turns ugly
1 of 8 Attribution: public domain On August 13, 1966, a Texas radio station organised a public burning of records by The Beatles in response to remarks by the British band's John Lennon about Jesus. Thousands of people, including teenagers, responded by bringing records and memorabilia of the Beatles, who were touring the US, and throwing them on the bonfire.
