It's taken a while for The Vandas to get to this point.
All the doubts, fears and frustrations are put to rest. Four years after four gentlemen from west and north of the Murray River colluded in the southern capital, their first long play record is finally here.
Despite expectations, borne of two well-received EPs, and a loyal live fanbase of punters and peers gathered everywhere from the corner pub to the big stage with the likes of You Am I, The Drones, and The Beasts of Bourbon, come 2007, The Vandas were drifting. An album was past due but the wheels were barely turning, scars still not faded.
Enter Joel Silbersher. A chance meeting on the factory floor where Chris Altmann and Mikey Madden were workmates with the GOD, Hoss and Tendrils frontman, saw handshakes exchanged and studio bookings made. The record's aim was to be true to The Vandas' greatest strength: playing live. Right down to the choice of their favoured rehearsal studio, Soundpark in Northcote, Victoria, and their live mixer, Justin Hermes, to engineer.
In one long day, they laid down fifteen songs intended as demo's for the album proper. But the performances and sounds were so visceral, so right for the songs - so right for The Vandas - that thoughts of tempting fate with 'proper' recordings were soon nixed. After two more days at Soundpark in the summer of '08, followed by two weeks mixing in glorious analogue by Ben Hurt at Newmarket Studios, the record was done. David Bromley's striking original paintings complete the album, providing a fittingly sardonic visual.
The album's title, 'Slow Burn', comes from the final song put to tape, written between sessions and recorded in two takes. An apt title for a record that sees promises finally kept.
'Slow Burn' is honest, raw, heart-worn, and devoid of the arch pretence or tired detachment of those chasing the zeitgeist. Those familiar with The Vandas will recognise their classic melodies, barbed lyrics, and truly Australian sound throughout the record. But this time the delivery hits harder, the songs cut deeper.
Great art is rarely offered from a place of comfort. The Vandas' scars are there for all to hear on 'Slow Burn'. Anyone left dazed and misused by the fickleness of love's hopes and diminished returns will find a redemptive affirmation in these ten songs. Time can lead to triumph.
'Slow Burn' is available now through Liberation Music.
