The debut EP from A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase, Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do, is out this Thursday, September 30th. We’re premiering it here first on Music Feeds.
Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do is the debut solo outing for Sydney musician Angus Gardiner, formerly of Papa vs Pretty. Gardiner, who goes by the name A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase, is also an established session player, having worked with Montaigne, Jarryd James, E^ST, Jack River, Alex the Astronaut, Jack Carty and Dean Lewis.
Gardiner cites a range of artists as influences on A Twenty-Two Letter Phrase, including Beck, Wilco, Elliott Smith, Sharon Van Etten, Jon Brion and Fiona Apple. Recent single ‘Predisposition’ draws on the indie folk sounds of Laura Marling and the symphonic art-rock of Rufus Wainwright.
Lyrically, Gardiner was guided by Viktor E Frankl’s classic memoir, Man’s Search for Meaning. “It was a transformative thing for me to read at a time when I was really struggling,” he said. “‘Predisposition’ is a song that came out of quite deep existential feelings about what it means to exist, persist, and make the world how you might like it to be while accepting that it won’t ever be that way.”
The six-song EP also includes the earlier singles, ‘Don’t Stop Spinning‘ and ‘The Little Things’. Gardiner performed all instruments on the record except for drums and sought to escape any self-imposed boundaries.
“I wanted to stretch myself and for the work to be truly reflective of me and uncollaborative/individualistic after years of collaborating,” he said.
Listen to Just Tell Me What I Gotta Do below.
