Artist: King Curly
| King Curly: Proudly Serving the Public since 2000 Paul Kelly reckons "their name should be shouted from the roof-tops." Harry Angus from the Cat Empire says they're "so strikingly original, musically and lyrically, that they can't really be compared to anything." Dont get the critics started (see below) or you'll be swimming in superlatives till doomsday. King Curly is contemporary Australian songwriting at its finest, voiced through a highly original, loose and sparse style of instrumentation aptly termed Garage-Cabaret. Their work is a refreshing anomaly on our musical landscape. Its apparent creative naivety masks exceptional skill that draws as much from the tragically misunderstood Tiny Tim as the gritty storytelling of Lou Reed. Hailing from the Blue Mountains in NSW, King Curly is the invention of Steve Appel, one of the best-kept secrets of Australian music. For six years, his slowly evolving, chiefly acoustic ensemble has been quietly capturing the hearts of some of biggest names in the business, from the East Coast Blues & Roots Festival to the Port Fairy Folk Festival to Perth's International Festival of the Arts and beyond. A slow-burning underground following blew up with their second album of 2004, Lullaby (Vitamin). Together with its predecessor, Family Man (Hot Records)), it documented a fruitful collaboration with J. Walker of Machine Translations. Today Steve's songs can be heard on recordings by Vika and Linda Bull, Jimmy Little, and strewn through the soundtrack of the Channel 7 series, Last Man Standing. Large-scale Australian tours at the invitation of Paul Kelly and the Cat Empire have helped bring King Curly to the attention of broader audiences, both in Australia and in Europe, which the band toured for the first time in 2004 to unanimous acclaim. The next phase of revelation begins here, with an astonishing third album, Doomsday Piano. This groundbreaking release was born of a remarkable songwriting collaboration between Steve and his subterranean writer friend, Mr Dan Creighton. Together they bring to life avenging zombies, ukulele bumblebees, possessed pianos and a certain air of quiet, smalltown romance, against an impossibly beautiful backdrop of chook-shed instrumentation. Doomsday Piano forges whole new soundscapes using a collection of unique, hand-wrought instruments, including a fence-paling banjo with a feral goat-skin head, a suitcase-bass and garage percussion made from tea-chests, hub-caps and petrol cans, played by an electrifying young band of jazz cats come good. Don't miss this opportunity to see and hear one of Australia's most innovative and talented bands WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT KING CURLY Paul Kelly, musician It seems to me a crying shame that two of the most extraordinary Australian records released in recent years have gone largely unheralded in this country. King Curly's new album Lullaby and their 2002 debut Family Man blend joy, melancholy and wonder in songs of haunting beauty. slipped in and out of my town two weeks ago like ghosts. Some of us who were at the visitation are still walking around as if in a spell. Their name should be shouted from the roof-tops, their records playing in the cafes, their songs on the radio. Harry Angus, The Cat Empire "It's nice to hear a man with an acoustic guitar writing songs which are so strikingly original, musically and lyrically, that they can't really be compared to anything. A dog in the night... an underground kingdom... a magical man who liberates people from their grey office worlds King Curly is a modern-day medicine man." Zolton Zavos, Revolver MagazineSteve Appel strikes as the very antithesis of the modern angst rock movement. This is music with brains showcasing the rather obscene talents of a local songwriter who is merely a seedy reputation and whiskey-a-day removed from a young Tom Waits." Michael Dwyer, The Age King Curly is more like a quiet stranger from the old country. He slips in unannounced: no flashbulbs at the airport, just a letter of introduction in his pocket to vouch for his character - bearing the handwritten scrawl of a Mr. Paul KellyTheres a musical otherness that makes King Curly such a hypnotic live experience. And theres a range that goes far beyond the usual parameters of folk roots or jazz acts"... **** Richard McComb Birmingham Post, UK "King Curly is a gem from down under! the great thing about Appel's vocal delivery is the fact that he sounds unashamedly Aussie. Perhaps the vogue for white artists singing in mock American accents has yet to reach Australia. Or perhaps Appel has got some artistic integrity. It makes the cult of the singer-songwriter seem less poncey when blokes sing like blokes." HiFi-Plus UK - 9/10 "King Curly, fronted by rhythm guitarist and singer/songwriter Steve Appel, is a much-talked about band from down under that proves itself be the very antithesis of those familiar Antipodean macho rock stereotypes. His angst is real life and his demons are instantly recognisable.......... remarkable confessions for an Australian man to make." **** Chris Benfield, Yorkshire Post UKKing Curly may not appear stereotypically Australian at first glance, neither delivering songs about kangaroos, the surf club or flotillas of refugees. But on closer examination the Curlys give off strong whiffs of Antipodean culture, picking up the tracks Crowded House left streaking through the sand a good few years ago. ****1/2 Iain Shedden, The Weekend Australian "The pubs of inner-Sydney may soon see the back of songwriter Steve Appel.after this uplifting left field attack on the senses." **** Kathy McCabe, Sunday Telegraph "Steve Appel is the thinking woman's sex symbol." Jeff Apter, Rolling Stone"dimly lit and expertly crafted." Oz Music Project, Evan Alexander "Lullaby lifts Appel those few crucial rungs above his contemporaries on the ladder of validity." Paul Kelly reckons "their name should be shouted from the roof-tops." Harry Angus from the Cat Empire says they're "so strikingly original, musically and lyrically, that they can't really be compared to anything." Dont get the critics started (see below) or you'll be swimming in superlatives till doomsday. King Curly is contemporary Australian songwriting at its finest, voiced through a highly original, loose and sparse style of instrumentation aptly termed Garage-Cabaret. Their work is a refreshing anomaly on our musical landscape. Its apparent creative naivety masks exceptional skill that draws as much from the tragically misunderstood Tiny Tim as the gritty storytelling of Lou Reed. |
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