Nick Cave meets the Australian desert: Charlie Ivan Band marry melancholic muses with the red country.
If you’ve ever driven through the remote country of Arrernte Country in Mparntwe/Alice Springs you will understand the endlessness of the red land, the monotony of the long stretches of road and the isolation of the boundless land.
Perhaps that is what drives the melancholic mood of Charlie Ivan Band. Or maybe they have simply taken inspiration from one of Australia’s most celebrated storytellers and songwriters to craft their sound. Either way Charlie Ivan Band deliver a dark discography as they delve into their debut album Where The Dogs Go To Die.
Charlie Ivan Band – Where The Dogs Go To Die
- When: Out now
- Label: Independent
- Stream: Listen here
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Written between the remote desert and the city, and recorded on Arrernte Country in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, Where the Dogs Go to Die is the second effort from Charlie Ivan Band who released their debut EP I Fell and It Rained in 2022.
Laced in introspection and intensity, Where the Dogs Go to Die sees the band dive into the darker doors of love and heartache as pulled from Cormac McCarthy’s prose. Marrying landscape to feeling, the album is geographically grounded, painting the portrait of the rural Australian setting through both sound and songwriting. With distinct and eclectic influence from Nick Cave, Nils Frahm and Bill Evans, Charlie Ivan Band have crafted a uniquely Australian sound.
Recorded across a week in a Mparntwe sharehouse-turned-music-studio by Naarm-based composer, engineer and producer Dylan Young, Where the Dogs Go to Die was launched on 9 October. The album contains twelve tracks including lead single ‘Sky’s Bleeding’ and includes a long list of contributors. To elevate the sound of the scene setting songs, the band enlisted a 10-person choir of friends who gathered on Wednesday nights to eat potato soup and come up with harmonies.
“I struggle to explain what this album is about, mostly because these songs are vulnerable and angsty, and it’s hard to be that out loud. Some of these songs are about longing and love, and heartbreak, or something in between. There’s other songs that aren’t really about much at all.” Charlie says.
“For so long I wrote by myself, using a little drum machine. I’m grateful to Sam Sargent (drums) and Ned Gaynor (bass) who brought these songs to life, this album is all of ours. Working with Dylan to record the album was a real pleasure too – he has a magic touch.”
Get sucked into the maelstrom of music.
Where the Dogs Go to Die for Charlie Ivan Band is out now and can be listened to here.
