Music Feeds’ Love Letter to a Record series asks artists to reflect on their relationship with the music they love and share stories about how it has influenced their lives. Here, Kabi Kabi/Sunshine Coast-based indie rock artist High Tropics raises a glass to Louis XIV’s 2005 LP ‘The Best Little Secrets Are Kept’.
High Tropics is celebrating the release of his new sun-soaked single ‘Girlfriends’, which he describes as a “down and out love song that doubles as a love letter to the green queen Mary Jane.” It was written during the healing process of a six-year relationship ending, and for High Tropics’ Josh Stewart, “it’s a song about picking yourself up and moving on.”
High Tropics’ Love Letter To Louis XIV’s The Best Little Secrets Are Kept (2005)
High Tropics: Hey Louis XIV,
I just wanted to drop you guys a line and let you know how much your debut album, The Best Little Secrets Are Kept, means to me. I still remember the first time my best friend played me the album’s opening track and thinking it was the coolest thing I’d ever heard. The flawless guitar tone, the urgency and snarl in the distorted vocals – it was the perfect blend of everything I loved about rock music.
From the opening riff of ‘Louis XIV’ to the closing notes of ‘The Grand Apartment’, your album is the eptime of raw and unapologetic attitude. It played as the soundtrack to some of the best memories of my youth. I listened to it endlessly on road trips, danced to it at parties, and probably annoyed my neighbours with its constant rotation. You were there for me through the ups and downs of adolescence, with your lyrics capturing the angst, the joy, and the confusion of that time in my life.
I remember being blown away by the raw energy of ‘Finding Out True Love Is Blind’ and the effortlessly nonchalant ‘Paper Doll’. Likewise, I recall how the more introspective tracks like ‘All The Little Pieces’ would make me feel like I was the only one in the world that could relate to them.
Louis XIV – ‘All the Little Pieces’
I still remember seeing you guys live back when you played in Brisbane, and it was one of the wildest shows I’ve ever been to. At the time, I was too young to appreciate the expertly crafted, seamlessly blended elements of garage rock, glam rock, and even a touch of blues that I have grown to understand and appreciate over the years.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for making such a fun album, and for opening my mind up to what was possible through the use of distortion. Undoubtedly, one of the best and most underrated rock records to come out of the 2000s, but I guess it’s true, the best little secrets are kept. And Jason, if you’re reading this… keep on rockin’!
Cheers my old friend,
Josh
High Tropics – ‘Girlfriends’
Further Reading
Love Letter to a Record: Baby Cool on Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’
Love Letter to a Record: Hope D on Hozier’s Self-Titled Album
Love Letter to a Record: Keanu on Prince’s ‘Breakfast Can Wait’
