The Holy Sea – Bad Luck / King of Palm Island

2007 saw the triumphant resurrection of The Holy Sea as they returned from a five-year hiatus to release their acclaimed second album A Beginner’s Guide to the Sea, which saw them hailed as one of the most thoughtful and distinctive voices in the Australian musical scene.

In 2009 the band was personally invited by Nick Cave to perform at the inaugural Australian All Tomorrow’s Parties, and now late in the year, they are ready to drop their new AA-single, offering a tantalising glimpse of their forthcoming album Ghosts of the Horizon.

Bad Luck finds the band at their visceral best. Abrasive guitar and pounding pianos are offset by sweeping cello stabs in a bitter lament on love and the landscape.

Inspired by Patrick White’s 1970 novel The Vivisector, the track is rich in poetic allusions – from White, T.S. Eliot, Max Harris and Samuel Coleridge – Bad Luck is a song firmly rooted in the Australian tradition.

King of Palm Island tells the story of the 2004 death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee. Inspired by Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man, the song takes the perspective of police sergeant Chris Hurley as he attempts to justify the actions that lead to Doomadgee’s death, begging listeners for “a little love” for the difficult task of policing a remote community. He soon realises that the community owes him absolutely nothing.

Saturday 24th October

The Palais, Hepburn Springs

With Tobias Hegeveld

Saturday 31st October

The Pub , Bendigo

With Gareth Eunson [from 7pm]

Friday 6th Nov

The National Hotel, Geelong

with Capital City (WA) and Catgut Mary

Saturday 7th Nov

The East Brunswick Club, East Brunswick

with Capital City (WA), The Broadside Push

and Turn (WA)

Sunday November 8

Henry F. Skerritt (solo)

In store – Pure Pop Records Courtyard,

St Kilda

Saturday 14 Nov

The Grace Emily, Adelaide

With Matt Reiner and The Aunt Sally’s

& Sleepless

Sunday 15th Nov

The Wheatsheaf, Thebarton

4pm, 2 sets

Friday 20th Nov

Settlers Tavern, Margaret River

with Capital City

Saturday 21st Nov

The Rosemount Hotel, North Perth

with Capital City, The Painkillers & Ghost Hotel

Sunday 22nd Nov

Fremantle Arts Centre Courtyard

2pm, Holy Sea Acoustic, 2 sets

Friday 4th Dec

The Excelsior, Surry Hills

With Little Lovers & Catherine Traicos

Saturday 5th Dec

The X&Y Bar, Fortitude Valley

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