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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $20 AUD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The new album from Mick Medew and the Mesmerisers and 10 songs of classic powerpop-rock! The CD edition comes in a shiny card gatefold sleeve with art by Michael Charles and Lois. Andrews.

    OVERSEAS BUYERS: The ridiculous shipping charge is what Australia Post quotes us. In the event of us being able to sneak your item through at a more reasonable rate (about $AUD8 if we're lucky) you will be refunded the balance.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Open Season via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $20 AUD or more 

     

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Sun 03:07
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Sweet Dreams 02:40
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Thin Line 03:04
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Open Season 03:26
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Deep River 03:09
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about

“Open Season” is the new album for Mick Medew and the Mesmerisers and considerablly different from their first. It’s a fresh line-up with a rockier feel, but the constants of clever and hooky song-writing, a soulful engine room and driving guitars remain.

And of course there’s the unique voice of Mick Medew, front-man for the Screaming Tribesmen, the Brisbane-born and Sydney-bred pop-rock legends who topped independent charts in Australia and the US in the ‘80s.

A Queensland Music Hall-of-Famer who led hometown heroes Mick Medew and the Rumours for many years, he’s also an ace guitarist with a taste in music that’s broader than the entrance to Moreton Bay.

Medew’s a musical story-teller par excellence and he’s assembled a killer band to co-write and play these 10 songs.

Guitarist Brian Mann and drummer Michael Charles were in different Tribesman line-ups; Charles played on the “Date With a Vampyre” EP and also boasts Sydney bands Shy Imposters and the Lipstick Killers on his resume.

Bassist Lois Andrews brings the bottom end and keening backing vocals and most recently added her talents to Brisbane soul-garage rockers Screamin’ Stevie and the Hobby Rockers, whose ranks include Brian Mann.

First impressions count for a lot and lead track “Imaginary Friend” makes one from the get-go. Its spiralling guitar and killer backbeat are irresistible, Mick’s vocal evoking better days. Strident and focussed.

Lattice-work guitars announce the playful “Something Going On” before a surging power-pop undertow takes you out past the reef-break on a sweet ride. Lois’s backing vocal is the sugar on top and her strident bass-lines lock things in down low.

“Sun” is pure guitar pop – the perfect tune to play in a convertible with the top down as you race to the beach on a summer’s day. There’s a New York Dolls-meet-Chuck Berry strut to this one – it’s probably the best Dictators song that Andy Shernoff never wrote.

The gently swelling “Sweet Dreams” blooms into a magnificent slice of country-tinged pop. It’s a perfectly pitched song of regret and optimism with winsome backing vocals. “Thin Line” reverts to chiming open chords and a cowbell to make its point.

“Exile On Boundary Street” sets its GPS for the country, and is an aching lament in which Mick Medew and Brian Mann’s guitars nail the “I done her wrong” mood in consummate style.

Withering guitars swirl through “Open Season” as Michael Charles’ busy drumming propels the tune forward. No mistaking that Lipstick Killers stutter in “No More Monkey”, a tale of liberation from a cage-like relationship. Charles’ monstrous kick drum and powerful feel gives swing to a peerless piece of punk-pop.

“Deep River” is one of the oldest songs here and juxtaposes snatches of greasy harmonica with tight harmonies and a strutting feel.

“Why Did I Fall In Love” flips Monkey’s sentiment on its head with chiming guitar and harmonies leading to a grand chorus. Its verses are peppered by some of the album’s smartest lyrics. Mick’s vocal is his best on the album – that’s no faint praise.

The album was produced by Brian Mann and the band and mastered by the legendary Don Bartley – so you know it sounds killer.

“Open Season” is out on CD and digital on June 17 on I-94 Bar Records. Available from Bandcamp or at selected record stores.

credits

released June 3, 2019

Mick Medew - vocals and guitars
Brian Mann - guitar and vocals
Lois Andrews - bass and vocals
Michael Charles - drums

Recorded by Brian Mann
Produced by Mick Medew, Brian Mann. Lois Andrews and Michael Charles
Mastered by Don Bartley at Benchmark Mastering

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all rights reserved

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I-94 Bar Records Sydney, Australia

A little label, really, bringing Real Rock Action to the world.

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