Calm Chameleons

With the extraordinary and intricate Pleasure And Consequence the first single lifted from their Movements EP, local electro/rock outfit City Calm Down are set to make an indelibly synthy mark on the Australian music scene. The record has been a while coming, but listening to the songs, it becomes apparent that it really couldn't have been any other way. This is patient, carefully considered art, with gorgeously arranged instrumentation and beautiful songwriting – well worth any kind of wait, really.

“We have released stuff in the past,” explains frontman Jack Bourke. “We released an EP that we produced ourselves in 2010. And we did a little two-track release at the start of the year, but that's always been a sort of 'we'll just throw it up on the internet' kind of thing. There was no real push behind it. And because we produced them ourselves, you do get that kind of homemade feel to them. This time, we went into the studio with a proper producer and really got stuck into it. It was the first time we'd done it, so it was a really good experience, and I think we're all really stoked with the outcome.”

The producer Bourke is talking about is Malcolm Besley, who has also worked with Snakadaktal and Gold Fields. When it came time to choose who they wanted to helm the controls on the record, it seems that there were some very specific qualities the band were after.

“It was his ability to blend electronic and traditional instruments that I just thought was really good,” Bourke says of Besley. “Locally, I don't know anyone who is really adept at that. I think he manages to get an organic mix where they feel like they're actually the same. The stuff he produced for Northeast Party House as well was something I was listening to a lot, because there's definitely that cohesion in that record that sort of pulls the two elements together and makes it sound like a band rather than an electronic dance act.”

It's interesting that Bourke should say that, because Movements, while fantastic to listen to in and of itself, also presents as what this writer, at least, imagines would be terrific music to see live. Not surprisingly perhaps, this was at the forefront of the band's thinking.

“We've been playing together for about four years now, and we haven't released a whole lot of music, so we've always tried to be more of a band than a bunch of guys standing around pushing buttons. That was something we wanted to bring into the studio, too. I hope it is good music to see live. The fact that Malcolm has been able to take what we are as a band and convert that to a record, it's quite heartening. That's what I get out of it. I hope that translates.”

City Calm Down are celebrating the release of Movements with two launch shows in Melbourne and Sydney, and this writer has no problem saying that they should be in the diary of any serious music fan. Bourke seems to hint that he and his bandmates might be slightly out of practice, but your correspondent has no doubt they will rise to what will be a truly special occasion.

“I'm pretty sure these are the first two headline shows we've done in over two years. I'm not sure why that is, but we're really looking forward to it. It's been a long time coming. We've played at the Liberty Social Club before, and it's going to be great. It's not a huge venue, so hopefully it'll be packed.”