The Fanning Dempsey National Park is fuelled on grunge and rock classics, it seems.
A national park is a recognised part of the environment that is significant to Australia’s identity, something that needs to be preserved and treasured for generations to come. The same could be said for the music of Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey. Having fronted two legendary acts in Powderfinger and Something For Kate, as well as massive solo careers, the duo have woven their music into the fabric of Australian life over the past 30 years.
Their collaborative project, Fanning Dempsey National Park, and subsequent LP The Deluge subverts expectation, offering something that sounds nothing like their separate projects while also feeling rooted in the songwriting sensibilities that have spawned some of the most iconic songs of a generation (or two).
Equal parts melodic and melancholic, the album dips between darkwave rock and upbeat indie with sprays of synths and tasty guitar licks complementing their unmistakeable vocals. As you would expect from anything the duo put their names to, repeat listens are rewarded with layers and lyrics sinking in over time.
But what do legends listen to? We got them to share their favourite vinyl and why they love them below. Check it out and buy/stream The Deluge here. And don’t miss their Q&A fan event in Melbourne on Sunday August 4th at The Corner Hotel, hosted by Dylan Lewis, tickets are on sale Here.
Slint – Spiderland (Paul)
In August 1990, four young guys from Louisville, Kentucky went into a studio for four days and captured lightning in a bottle. This album is just so unique and unusual. I’ve never heard anything quite like it before or since even though it spawned dozens of imitators and is widely regarded as the album that gave birth to the whole ‘post-rock’ scene, (whatever that actually means).
The recording is decidedly no-frills, it sounds like you’re right there in the basement with them, but the way they employ unusual time signatures and dynamics, guitars sounds that are clear as a bell one minute and and screeching the next, and the almost spoken-word delivery of the lyrics, (which are sprawling narratives in themselves), creates an atmosphere that is absolutely haunting and memorable.
It’s youthful and earnest and naïve and weird and beautiful.
Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti (Bernard)
It’s pretty hard to chooses favourite LZ record but for me this one has every element that the band utilised over all of their other albums. Blasting driving rock, bluesy wig outs, acoustic, open tuned Celtic influenced pieces and superbly crafted electric guitar ballads. My favourite is ‘Side 3’ which starts with a long eastern influenced synthesiser intro for ‘In The Light’, into a beautiful acoustic instrumental ‘Born Y Aur’, the playful tremolo driven ‘Down By The Seaside’ and into my favourite Zeppelin tune ‘Ten Years Gone’ – a beautifully tender song that looks back on a relationship long since forgotten. I played this record so much that I’m amazed it hasn’t had holes worn through it.
David Bowie – Let’s Dance (Bernard)
This was the first vinyl I ever bought with my own money. Bowie came to play the Serious Moonlight tour in Brisbane at Lang Park in 1983 and it was also the first concert I bought a ticket for. Everyone knows the big hits ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘Modern Love’ and ‘China Girl’, but there are a few other gems on this album. Notably, a meatier re-record of ‘Cat People’ from an earlier film soundtrack, and ‘Without You’ – a very rare love song from Bowie. This album had a pretty big influence on the types of drum sounds and rhythms that Paul and I were going for on our FDNP record.
Fugazi – Repeater (Paul)
I first heard Fugazi when I was about 14 years old and I just thought straight away that it was the best music I had ever heard in my life and not much has changed really. There is something about the way they combine the simple ingredients of drums, bass and two guitars (the same standard ingredients of pretty much any rock band) and it just sounds so much greater than the sum of those parts.
The way they push and pull at each other in a musical sense creates a tension and a freedom and an energy unlike anything else. ‘Repeater’ is an early one but over the course of seven records they just got more and more adventurous and experimental. They’ve been ‘on hiatus’ since 2004 but if there was one band I would dream of hearing new music from, it’s these guys.
I heard recently that they still get together and play together in the basement from time to time… Which is fucking infuriating.
Cold Fact- Rodriguez (Bernard)
When I was in primary school in the 70s my eldest brother was at University in Brisbane. This Rodriguez album had exploded in Australia and was passed around by students on copied cassettes. Eventually we got our hands on the vinyl and it became an absolute standard for me for years afterwards. Rodriguez is widely known for his abilities as a songwriter, but is also a very underrated singer in that he delivers his caustic lyrics about social alienation with absolute conviction, but all without ever raising his voice.
The melodies are incredibly simple and almost nursery rhymes. Added to that the arrangements of the strings and brass turn these folk songs into absolute epics. So much of what Rodriguez had to say rings true to this very day, despite the fact that it was originally released in 1970. Without this album I would never have made Tea And Sympathy.
A Touch Of Ireland (Paul)
This is a particularly special piece of vinyl in my collection because I spent half my childhood in this place. In the early 80’s, (long before there was such a thing as an ‘Irish Pub’), Bunratty Castle was an Irish ‘Theatre Restaurant’ in Melbourne which catered to Melbourne’s Irish community with traditional music and food and most importantly, it was one of the few places you could actually get a pint of Guinness.
When my parents moved here from Dublin they both worked there. My mother and her sister both sang Irish/Gaelic folk music 300 nights a year, my older sisters were often roped in to do Irish dancing and I would fall asleep under a pile of coats to the strains of ‘Bhaidhin Eilamhid’.
Anyway, my Mum sings a couple of songs on this record released in 1978 and every time I hear it my whole life flashes before my eyes.
