STACK #161 Mar 2018

MUSIC

FEATURE

TOP TRACKS

all, as a band, play together, but we play a stripped-down version of the song. It sounds lame, but you know when people sing into the same mic? Something like that. That could be cute, but we’d have to find the right line, where it’s not cheesy.” The stagecraft side isn’t something he frets about: “I’m not too fussed about lighting. I just look into the crowd, and if people are going like this” – he squints as if staring at the sun and makes a weak moan of horror – “I’m like, you’re

Catskills [New York State mountains] – his wife owns the general store, and he has a beautiful barn that’s on his mum’s property. He’s a real vibey guy, so he burned incense, and he gives you a massage before you sing. That doesn’t work for everyone. Some artists’d be like, ‘Put these candles out! Let me sing!’ But I’m like, ‘This is good.’” Musical partnerships also emerged with horn players Will Morrissey (saxophone) and Nic Ryan Glenie (trumpet); the multi- instrumentalists were key

LIKE GOLD An irresistable sense of movement compels the chorus lyrics in this single, with bittersweet sunset harmonies – our pick of the album. CALL IF YOU NEED ME The record opener is sparse with only a few deep snare taps to match the mandolin triplets, with a deceptively memorable melody. amongst love songs: "I was just coasting 'til we met /You remind me just how good it can get... I'm with you, there's nothing I won't do.“ ONE OF THESE DAYS The triumphant horns of single Lay It On Me appear again in the chorus here. An exultant track still soaked in the poignant spirit that characterises the album . I ' M WITH YOU A superlative love song

in materialising Keogh’s ideas – particularly in the ARIA-nominated single Lay It On Me . “You might just sing into the microphone, which is fun,” Keogh explains, demonstrating a

I feel like you put something out into the world, and there will be some kind of response – a sweet little connection

pretty spot-on parp. “I am the mouth horn! [Then] the horn lines kind of just evolve

while you’re in the studio. It’s definitely a cool way of augmenting an already recorded song – [it’s a] nice thickening agent. It’s nice to have that energy on stage. They’re great guys, Will and Nic.” Also demonstrating the expanded sound of Nation Of Two is single Like Gold ; there’s a real sense of movement because of how the natural stress syllables of the lyrics fall. “I think that song is a slight evolution,” Keogh says. “I haven’t really played that triplet fingerpicking thing [before], so it lead to a couple of songs with that rhythm on this album.” With live dates set to go in September, prep is in full swing. Keogh says in the past he didn’t think too much about the narrative of the show, but now he enjoys it, offering a few ideas off the top of his head. “Maybe we

Nation Of Two by Vance Joy is out now via Liberation.

doing it wrong. That’s not the desired effect, burning someone’s face off. No, we have good lighting guys!” he chuckles. If you make it to one of the dates, don’t be shy about showing your appreciation and calling out. “Lorde says, ‘I whisper things, the city sings ‘em back to you’,” Keogh says (quoting Green Light ). “Well, I’ve been learning to whistle with one hand. I’m not very good at it. But I did it cleanly last night. Then these people at the tram stop 100 metres away whistled back. And then I was whistling, and we were having this thing. I feel like you put something out into the world, and there will be some kind of response – a sweet little connection.”

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