Blackbirds F.C. have cornered the market in folk-tinged antipodean pop, basking in the radiant sunshine of a nostalgic world that draws in inspiration for the world around them in wry, observational vignettes. This magical land is perfectly encapsulated in the title track to their new album ‘Magiclands’ and the evocative video we are premiering here in Backseat Mafia, directed, edited and film treated by Melbourne/Naarm based artist Amanda Morgan.
I wrote of the single in my review of the album that it is a gorgeous shimmering delight: with celestial choruses and an aching, melancholy feel and guitars that jangle like chiming bells. The band has an ear for delicious melodies and crystalline guitars that create a perfect pop package with an antipodean flavour.
Blackbirds FC have a keen sense of geography and place in their songs – with a poignancy linked to the profound effect of memories that are linked to the land. The video reflects this in an aquatic wash of rolling, pounding surf with surfers coasting on the brim – something quintessentially Australian – that recalls long hot summers, bright blue cloudless skies, bleached white beaches and an air of languid peacefulness.
The colours blur, the motion is constant and almost psychedelic: the video becomes a palimpsest for our memories from the distant past – never precise, never detailed but always immersive and evocative of certain imprecise senses – faded smells, tastes and reconstituted visions.
‘Magiclands’ is out now and available through the link below and all the usual download/streaming sites here.
‘Magiclands’ will be launched this week on Thursday, 24 November at George Lane in Melbourne – tickets and details here.
Magiclands Album Launch
7.30pm, Thursday 24 November
George Lane, St Kilda, Victoria
with Tanya Lee Davies
No Comment