Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to be exposed to some amazingly talented independent bands and artists. I have come to love finding these talented musicians much more than even the newest album from lifelong favorite artists. There have been many acts that I have fallen in love with, but four or five that I have just been blown away by what they do. Castlecomer is one of those bands.
I first got the chance to hear this quintet from Sydney, Australia while working on another website. They sent in the song “Butterfly & the Blade” as a submission for an indie sampler much like the Indie Overdose that we have here. I saw right away that these guys have fun doing what they do. The track is an upbeat folk rock song with a great melody and nicely placed harmonica that can’t help but get you moving.
It was intriguing enough that I did some digging and found a bunch of YouTube videos the band had created to spread the word. What didn’t come through in the initial track, was that these boys can sing! All five, four of which are cousins (two brothers), can sing lead and they harmonize like very few bands out there right now. It completely blew me away.
I had been eagerly anticipating the release of their first EP, Danny’s Den, and get the opportunity to tell the world just how good this band is. The boys Kennedy (Bede, Joe, Tom & Pat) and Joey Neely have put together 6 fine tracks that need to be heard.
The opening and title track (which is available for free on this month’s Indie Overdose) starts slowly and is filled with Edge-like (U2) guitar work throughout. A second electric, acoustic, bass and key work build over the rumbling drum line until the first words, “oh the times, the go so fast. Look forward, don’t look back.” And so it begins. “Why do I run from myself? I run from me. I’m so old and wise now, so young and free.” The music builds as the harmonies take it up a notch and the listener is blown away.
“Where to Go” gives Joey Neely the lead and he croons Mumford-like vocals on this ballad. The highlight here is the bridge. The pace picks up and the rest of the crew back Neely up in what becomes an almost anthemic moment.
If you have seen any of the band’s videos, you know they have a big sense of humor and it comes through in both “Johnsong” and “Seeing Her Tonight.” Both are upbeat tracks that get those feet moving. There are all sorts of things going on, including more great vocal harmonies.
“Billy” is a folk song through and through, complete with fiddle. It’s a beautiful love song that once again highlights great vocal harmonies. The boys have struck gold with this one as it brings chills with each listen. Along with the title track, this is the strongest of an incredibly good group of songs.
Castlecomer is one of those bands you can’t get enough of. Their music travels through your ears and seeps into your blood. Let it in, sit back and enjoy!
I had the chance to ask the boys a few questions. Here is what they had to say:
VA: For those readers who have not heard you yet, tell me, who is Castlecomer?
We’re a 5-piece from Sydney, 4 of us are cousins and the 5th is our blood brother Joey. He’s not related, but one day we pulled him aside, and agreed that he was our brother at heart, and biological parents mean nothing really.
VA: Where did the name come from and is there any significance behind it?
There is – our grandfather’s mother grew up in a little town in Kilkenny in Ireland called Castlecomer. We thought it had a bit of a ring to it and enough significance.. Above all it just seemed to sit nicely, where other names hadn’t.
VA: With four of the five of you being family, you obviously go back a long way. When did you start singing together and how did you decide to form a band?
We never formed the band with visions of being Fleet-Foxes, it just happened that way – we could all sing, so it happened quite naturally. Our extended family has always been very musical, although we didn’t really start singing together until we formed the band, which was almost 2 years ago now. We all loved our music and had messed around with playing songs together on our respective instruments, but one day over a BBQ we bounced the idea around and it really became something worth thinking about seriously. When Joey joined the brotherhood not long after and added his voice and keys to the mix, things started to take shape and take off.
VA: How does the songwriting process work for you? Is there a main songwriter or is it a collaborative process?
All five of us write songs, and usually we’ll write the music and lyrics individually and then bring it to the band to learn. Sometimes all the instrumental parts will already be in your head and somewhat written, and sometimes we’ll show up with a song that’s absolutely bare-bones chords and lyrics and see what happens with it. Regardless of how much or little collaboration there is in writing a song though, we’re always aware of whose song it is – when you write a song it becomes your baby, so everyone contributes and brings their ideas and opinions to the table, but the writer has the final say on what goes in.
VA: You’ve got a sound that is quite unique. Your ability to harmonize blows away much of what is out there today. Is that a strong focus when writing a Castlecomer song?
It’s not so much actually. Working out the harmonies is a collaborative process, by necessity if nothing else. So when writing a song, we might write in sections where we want the harmonies to take over, or we might not. Sometimes songs are brought to the band and we can nail the harmonies down within 10 minutes. Other times we might mess around with different arrangements until we’ve got what we want – we’ve spent a whole 2 and a half hour practice working out harmonies for a new song before!
So in getting back to the question, usually the harmonies will be worked out later, and might add to the song or even suggest modifications to the song, but that’s after the core writing process.
VA: What bands, both current and past influence you? What are you listening to now?
We love a bit of light hearted music like Vampire Weekend, The Kooks and The Beatles, but we also take a lot of influence from more serious bands like Mumford & Sons and U2, as well as some real old school legends like The Band, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. We all have really different musical backgrounds actually, and we’re still very much trying to ‘find our sound’.
We’re really digging ‘Empty Hands’ by Art of Sleeping at the moment, they’re a band from Brisbane. Check out ‘Spiritus’ by Lisa Mitchell too, she’s doing great things.
VA: In all the time I have covered indie music, two of my favorite bands happen to come from Sydney; Castlecomer and I Am Apollo. What is it about the music scene in Sydney and who else do you guys like that we should be aware of?
It’s ironic really, a lot of the live music venues around Sydney are closing down, but if anything, our music scene is getting stronger. There’s some serious talent coming out of the woodwork, and possibly in response to all these venues closing there’s been a really strong move towards the smaller, more intimate gigs being held in people’s living rooms and backyards, for example The Smallest Gig, and Sofar Sounds – which is in fact more of a global movement, Sofar Sounds organise these kinds of gigs all over the world! It’s such a different way to experience the music, and we find both as artists and audience at these sorts of gigs, it’s an awesome direction for our music scene to be going! We’re actually working on organising one of our own backyard gigs! In terms of other artists from Sydney you should be aware of.. We could go on for a while, but we’ll just spit a few names at you.
Matt Corby – surprise elimination from Australian Idol from about 5 years ago – he’s spent a lot of time working on his sound and he’s just taken the country by storm with his new EP. Have a listen to ‘Brother’.
Georgia Fair – These guys have crept up on us all, but they’ve just released a killer album. Have a listen to ‘Where You Been’.
Colour Coding – This band are really new, but they’ve got a killer electro-pop sound.. Sort of Passion Pit-esque. Have a listen to ‘Perfect’.
Bears With Guns – These guys supported us at our EP Launch and have a wicked upbeat folky feel. They’re in the recording studio at the moment. Check out ‘For The Thrill’.
And that’s all we’ve got time for today on that topic!
VA: It’s obvious that a sense of humor is just as important as the music is for this band. You’ve sung at indoor pools, sneaked in to construction sites, etc. Is this something you consciously think about or is it spontaneous and who is the real jokester in the band?
We like to give ourselves a chance with viewers I guess, there’s an art to making a video that people will actually bother to watch! But at the same time, it’s all a bit of fun and we have a killer time doing it.. Generally we try to find places that have good acoustics, it makes everything sound naturally ten times better, particularly the harmonies. We’ve got a few more acoustic videos lined up in fact, we’re aiming for release of those on our Youtube channel throughout the month of May – you could say it’s looking to be a month of ‘Mayhem’.. That’s one of Tom’s jokes, our resident jokester.
VA: The EP has been released and you had a successful EP launch. By the looks of your Facebook page, you are setting up a busy summer. Are there any plans to leave Australia and tour elsewhere?
The EP Launch was absolutely unreal, we never imagined we would have so many people turn out to see us play, or that the vibe would be so good – it was amazing. It has certainly given us confidence and set us a strong platform to build from, although we are in fact setting up for winter, not summer – us Southern Hemisphere folks have got our seasons backwards haha [Author’s Note: After checking a map and my middle school social studies textbook, I found that the southern hemisphere does in fact have it backwards. Or maybe it is us. Otherwise, I humbly apologize for the brainfart).
We are all in our final year of uni this year, so no plans to travel until next year, but we’ve been saving the dollars in the piggy bank in preparation, so we’re open to suggestions on where to tour!
VA: So really…who is the best ping pong player?
We all like to claim that title! But it’s Pat.
Without a doubt.
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars!
Album Name: Danny’s Den
Release Date: March, 2012
Location: Sydney, Australia
Genre: Folk Rock
Facebook: www.facebook.com/castlecomer
YouTube: www.youtube.com/castlecomermusic
