Ball Park Music and their new long player Good Mood

The story of Ball Park Music starts in 2009 with a fairly typical ‘Kingmillian’ Dad-like review from chief triple j music man, Richard Kingsmill.
“Rufus Wainwright called. He wants his song back. So he should. This is a pretty good one.” Captain J put out. Other than allowing Dick to chuckle at his own comedic talents while wondering whether he should have saved such gold for a Sunday BBQ, it also helped catapult the Brisbane band onto an almost decade long journey of discovering themselves. Their new album, released just 18 months since their last seems to be the culmination of that ride.
“It wasn’t a contrived thing, it was just where we were at and how we were feeling at the time. I guess that just comes with getting a bit older and maybe on the last record it was like we were learning how to not give a fuck. On this one we still didn’t give a fuck, in a healthy way, but it was optimistic and ambitious. There was a lot less second guessing on this, so yeah I like using the word fearless because we felt a bit of that,” front man Sam Cromack explains.
Although the other band members were relieved when Sam’s writing leant towards singles again, Good Mood whisks you away from the preconceived notion of pop-predictability and makes you realise you don’t know every side to them. Standout track ‘Hands off my body’ spanks any assumption right out of you at the start of the second half of the album, if BPM had a red room this would be it. Any sting and surprise is soothed with a gentle ride out through the rest of the tracks, yet still a difference exists tonally in the most pleasant of ways.
“Obviously that song has a fair amount of attitude and it feels like It has a decent sized switch in the atmosphere. During the whole process of writing and recording we were on a real high, we were really marching forward in the studio. We were open to trying things and letting ideas sit and trying really hard not to let those outside influences mess up our process,” Cromack says of the variance in the tracks.
There is a tangible change between their last release and Good Mood, the latter doing what it says on the tin. Although not able to specifically pinpoint the change in approach, Cromack does suggest recent parenthood of a bandmate offered clarity on their own lives.
“I don’t know what the catalyst for the mood changing on this album has been. I do know that there was a lot more inner-turmoil on the last album and I felt like I was having a mid-twenties crisis. I was freaking out about getting that little bit older and just dealing with my own shit, I can sense a lot of restlessness on that last album and it’s as dark as I’ve gotten as a writer. Whereas this album is about learning to love who you are. A few times I’ve mentioned that part of that is Daniel, our drummer, became a father and I think that really made all of us feel like we’d started a new chapter and had a new lease on life. It gave me a sense of what is important in life and made me check my values”.
Despite the unpredictability of the album, which screams out to be played live, there is a certainty that the current world each member resides in will dictate the direction of the band. With such dexterity and juxtaposed ‘don’t give a fuck fearlessness’ and ‘value-driven writing’, we can only hope this allows the band to continue their prolificacy of releases.
Good Mood doesn’t just timestamp the band’s current place in the world as it opens with a call to all listeners, ‘is anybody out there, are you feeling this too?’. The real comfort comes from the kaleidoscopic and modelled meandering sound of the album, knowing that the next chapter for the band will in some way guide you through yours in a less than foreseeable manner.
Release: GOOD MOOD will be released on February 23 via Stop Start.
When & Where: The Forum, Melbourne – March 2.

Written by James Mac