Nervous Flashlights is the eighth studio album by Australian indie rockers, The Fauves, which was issued in June 2006 on Shock Records and was co-produced by the group with Wayne Connolly (You Am I). Eleven of its twelve tracks were written by the band's vocalist and guitarist, Andrew Cox.
| Nervous Flashlights | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 June 2006 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 49:03 | |||
| Label | Shock | |||
| Producer |
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| The Fauves chronology | ||||
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Details
editCox later said, "We got a grant for this one. Like lottery winners passing a bedraggled busker, the government leant in to the guitar case at my feet and generously deposited a few notes. Quailing with panic, taxpayers reached for their rear pockets only to find their wallets already gone."[1]
On their website they related, "The song 'Clive of India Curry Powder' earned us our first ever sponsorship deal when the makers of the iconic spice blend sent us a box of their products as acknowledgment of the brilliant job we had done in promoting their brand."[2]
Reception
editGarrett Bithell of FasterLouder opined, "nothing particularly memorable about [the album]. Musically the tracks are formulaic and generally uninspiring, but lyrically they are witty and literate. The problem is the guys are attempting to tread that very fine line between self-effacing tripe and culturally critical self-indulgence. In doing so they unfortunately fall into a well of gimmicky mediocrity."[3]
The Sydney Morning Herald's George Palathingal observed, "The opening couplets of new album Nervous Flashlights could make you laugh out loud ('True love waits/So hit the brakes/Take your hands/Out of my pants ..."') while plaintive 'Down All Day' is just delicately lovely. Elsewhere, Cox references everyone from Jim Fixx, the so-called godfather of American jogging who died of a heart attack while running, to David Coverdale, singer for '80s hair-rock embarrassment Whitesnake."[4]
The reviewer for Glovebox.com.au website rated it at 61% and explained, "As veteran mock-rockers, the [band] have left it until late in their career to discover their sensitive side, with [this album] being easily their most emotionally fragile release to date... It seems that at the heart of the Fauves is a sense of romanticism that was less apparent in their earlier works, but has become more pronounced as age has not wearied them but tempered their attitudes towards life."[5]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Andrew Cox,[6] unless otherwise noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "True Love Waits" | 3:57 |
| 2. | "I'll Work When I'm Dead" | 3:33 |
| 3. | "I'm Jim Fixx and I'm Dead Now" | 4:27 |
| 4. | "Down all Day" | 3:28 |
| 5. | "I Am not Approachable" | 3:27 |
| 6. | "Trouble" (Philip Leonard) | 3:21 |
| 7. | "Actress and Bishop/David Coverdale" | 7:05 |
| 8. | "Something Spooked the Horses" | 4:12 |
| 9. | "The Lost Art of Shorthand" | 3:06 |
| 10. | "Clive of India Curry Powder" | 3:38 |
| 11. | "Australian Gigolo" | 4:12 |
| 12. | "We Sleep in the Afternoon" | 4:36 |
Personnel
edit- The Fauves
- Timothy Cleaver – bass guitar, vocals
- Andrew Cox – guitar, vocals
- Philip Leonard – guitar, vocals
- Adam Newey – drums, vocals
- Recording details
- Producer – Wayne Connolly, the Fauves
- Mastering – John Roberto
- Recording, mixing – Wayne Connolly
- Cover design – Michael Ebbels
References
edit- ^ "Q&A: The Fauves". beat.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012.
- ^ The Fauves website discography
- ^ Bithell, Garrett (24 July 2006). "The Fauves – Nervous Flashlights". FasterLouder. Junkee Media. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ Palathingal, George (11 August 2006). "The Fauves". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "The Fauves – Nervous Flashlights". Glovebox.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "'True Love Waits' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 25 January 2018. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' and/or 'Performer:'