Fifteen years of leading one of Australia’s most consistently creative and critically acclaimed rock bands, Bluebottle Kiss, saw Jamie Hutchings write and release over 130 songs. During that time the band relentlessly toured the country, the US and Europe playing with bands as diverse as Beck, Midnight Oil and Dinosaur Jr .With His Imaginary Choir, Hutchings releases his second solo album, an amazing collection of concise narrative driven songs inspired by amongst other things, the exotica movement of the sixties and the singer/songwriter movement of the early seventies. Since beginning his career in the early nineties on Sony’s Murmur with Something for Kate and Jebidiah, it was clear that Jamie’s musical ambitions did not fit cleanly into the defined parameters of contemporary rock. Instead Bluebottle Kiss relentlessly explored genres ranging from jazz to country at the same time as developing a reputation for ferociously intense live shows honed from endlessly touring Australia the US and Europe. However as an antidote to Bluebottle Kiss’ sprawling, epic double CD of 2006, Doubt Seeds, Jamie’s insatiable curiousity turned not to further exploration but to constraints with his latest release ‘His Imaginary Choir’. Co-produced by Jamie and Tony Dupe (Holly Throsby, Jack Ladder , Saddleback etc), His Imaginary Choir is an exercise in using simple yet alien arrangments and minimal studio resources to create a domestic yet amazingly rich sound. Lyrically, His Imaginary Choir frequently explores the simple notion of how we imagine we communicate. Whether it’s someone trying to pep talk another into a new post-disaster beginning (After the Flood), the clumsy recollections of a first time meeting to a long time friend (The World Grows Tinier) or the deluded rationalisations of a man who dances alone for his own pleasure (You Don’t Dance), His Imaginary Choir looks at a number of blurry scenarios where one struggles to connect with the other. As always Hutchings reaps unpredictable results.The template for indie rock singer/songwriters solo albums is country-tinged americana territory. His Imaginary Choir sees Hutchings mostly move away from this obvious path and instead follow through on his previous fascination for exotica and choral arrangements. There’s an element of light and barely contained joy at times, with Martin Denny-like percussion and instrumentation partnered with a childlke naive kind of wonder courtesy of the Georges Auric-like choral arrangements.| |REVIEWS: “It’s another step along an evolutionary pathway that continues to reinforce Hutchings’ reputation as one of Australia’s most gifted songwriters…though these 11 songs are all built around the traditional singer-songwriter framework of acoustic guitar and the human voice, Hutchings manages to separate himself from the pack by layering the album with a diverse array of often-unexpected sounds…a remarkable chapter to his already highly impressive discography.” - MESS AND NOISE “Hutchings is one of those mad geniuses who constructs every aspect of every song in his proverbial bedroom.” – PLAYBACK::STL “… the Bluebottle Kiss frontman continues, seemingly without pause, to grow his body of work to canon status. Impressive.” - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD “His Imaginary Choir grows with charm and perfection with each listen. The falsetto and child-like voices work in unison with rustic guitars, shuffled percussion, and the stroytelling that examines the frailty and hilarity of human connection with one another. Hutchings’ vocal styling hitting the sweet spot somewhere between Jeff Tweedy and Tim Rogers territory, hence marking this record as a truly world class effort, it’s that bloody impressive.”- RHYTHMS “A low key, rewarding late-night listen that proves that there’s life after blown amps and feedback.” - ROLLING STONE **** (Four Stars) “He has a range that flows from spitting passion to vulnerable subtlety. The songs are as impressive as his voice…” - HANNAH GARVEY, TIME OFF “In an unexpected turn of events, this unassuming lil solo effort could well prove Hutchings’ strongest work to date.” - THE CANBERRA TIMES “Hutchings remains a unique vocalist. His lyrics are populated with vivid imagery and movement. He orchestrates his sentence completions and structural technique around the cause and will of the chord changes, stretching lines out over the span of both time and logic, with often fascinating results.” - POP MATTERS (Come Across) |BAND MEMBERS|Jamie Hutchings- Vocals, guitars,percussion, keys His Imaginary Choir (live band) |Sophie Hutchings - piano,vocals,percussion |Reuben Wills - bass, vocals |Erin Hutchings-vocals |Rebecah Freeman - vocals,guitar, percussion, bell set |Jared Harrison - drums |Scott Hutchings - drums | |
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