We are very pleased to premiere the vibrant thrum of ‘Brunswick St’ from troubadour Rich Webb. With traces of fellow Australian singer/songwriter Paul Kelly and an added steely spine augmented by fuzzy guitars and a driving rhythm, Webb creates his own visceral edge filled with an antipodean sheen – a sort of Bruce Springsteen stadium glow replete with an anthemic chorus and an infectious exuberance.
Webb says of the track:
It’s a story song. I was walking down Brunswick Street and randomly bumped into a pretty wild dude I used to run with back then, who I hadn’t seen for years. He was still going hard and it was great to see him. There was some common ground and a lot came flooding back. It’s about the way people and places change for you, but you also carry a bit of them forward with you too. I still get a tingle of excitement walking down there, and I think that’s because I experienced such a great time in my life on that bit of pavement. Always been a fun place for me, and I tried to catch that in the song. It’s still a cracking strip – get yourself over there!
The cool, laconic delivery walks step by step with the street itself – part of a Melburnian bohemian alternative buzz – with a lively, cantering instrumentation and an indelible melody. A touch of alt.country Australiana, a touch of indie insouciance and a whole lot of sincerity:
It’s a heartfelt paean to a street, a city and an attitude that positively glows like an neon light.
‘Brunswick St’ is out through All Killer Music on Thursday, 11 May 2023 and can be pre-saved here. You can catch Webb launching the single with two launch shows for ‘Brunswick Street’ slated for Melbourne in the coming weeks – including a matinee show at The Brunswick Ballroom on Saturday, 20 May, and an evening show at St Kilda’s George Lane on Friday, 2 June – details and tickets available here.
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