WE ALL WANT TO: The Haze
There’s something strangely familiar about the new album from Brisbane wunderkinds WE ALL WANT TO. It’s there in the lines of the opening track, the golden memory of a summer of innocence, of teenage love, burning sand, cloudless skies. It’s a half-imagined recollection of other days, viewed through the skewed prism of time and perhaps a late-afternoon buzz. Evocative, compelling and urgent, it’s the sound of a band hitting new heights as songwriters and performers. There’s more focus on guitars, and the songs are shorter and hit harder. This time around, there’s a new directness to what they’re saying.
So by now you know the story – a collective of sorts, more than the sum of its parts – not quite a supergroup, but definitely one worth knowing about. Their previous two albums were widely praised, both in Australia and in the US where they made quite a splash on college radio. Their 2012 album ‘Come Up Invisible’ made the AMP long list, was a finalist for Queensland Album of the Year, and shifted a serious number of albums for an indie release. This is whip-smart rock music, made for all kinds of audiences in all kinds of places.
After the success of, WE ALL WANT TO gigged heavily all over Australia, as well as presenting some wildly uccessful theatre shows in their hometown of Brisbane. A burst of songwriting in early 2014 prepared the way for the recording of ‘The Haze’ which was again done at The Shed in Brisbane, then mixed with Wayne Connolly in Sydney. The band’s third album is 39 minutes of concise, literate and intelligent songs, full of meaning and deliberate imagery. Take Skye’s fragile and glorious “Remove The Arrow”, vulnerable yet tough, or the empathy of “Wish You Didn’t Go Straight”, which beautifully captures the pain of moving away from the life you once had. Sure, there’s heartbreak here, but it’s balanced with a wry smile – time has healed these wounds, and this is the sound of a band comfortable with their choices and confident enough to share it all with you. There’s a real power to this record, and it pulls off the neat trick of being both clearly innovative and deeply familiar, much like their intimate yet explosive live shows.
WE ALL WANT TO – THE HAZE TOUR 2015
Friday 29 May – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 30 May – The Metro, Adelaide SA
Friday 5 June – Heritage Hotel, Bulli NSW
Saturday 6 June – The Phoenix, Canberra ACT
Sunday 7 June – The Vanguard, Sydney NSW
Saturday 13 June – Woolly Mammoth, Brisbane QLD
Sunday 14 June – Bison Bar, Nambour QLD
Friday 19 June – The Spotted Cow, Toowoomba QLD
‘The Haze’ is available via MGM Distribution.
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