Peabody (band)
| Peabody | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Sydney, Australia |
| Genres | Rock, post-punk, indie rock |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Nonzero Records (Australia); Peabrain Recordings |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | Bruno Brayovic Ben Chamie Tristan Courtney-Prior Jared Harrison |
| Past members | Graeme Trewin Garry Butler Dave Bembrick |
Peabody are an Australian four-piece rock band. Forming straight out of school in Sydney in 1994, the then three-piece Peabody ingrained themselves in the live music scene of Inner-city Sydney. Following other Sydney bands of the time, such as You Am I, the group played venues like The Landsdowne Hotel and The Iron Duke before graduating to more well known venues such as The Annandale Hotel, The Hopetoun Hotel and The Sandringham Hotel.
The band recorded and self-released two early EPs but were best known for their live performances which led to the band developing a dedicated Sydney following. It was at this time that they began their association with Sydney-based independent record label Nonzero Records distributed through Shock Records. The label was founded in 2001 in order to release Bluebottle Kiss' 2002 album, "Revenge Is Slow", but had since expanded to release other local bands.
At Nonzero Records, Peabody found a label to release their records and a producer in new label-mate and Bluebottle Kiss leader, Jamie Hutchings. Despite having little experience producing other bands, Hutchings had demonstrated considerable skill for committing his own band's fearsome energy and polar dynamics to tape. ("It's wonderful to see that the dynamics and atmospheres this band can invoke in a live situation can translate so utterly successfully to a recorded medium", wrote critic Craig New of Bluebottle Kiss in 2002). That being the skill Peabody required from a producer, the relationship proved successful for both parties.
The resulting effort was 2003's "Professional Againster" (the name taken from the title of a New Bomb Turks song), a raw, solid and succinct example of what Peabody were best known for - energetic rock that sounded like the wheels were about to fall off, but never quite did.
Standout track "Stupid Boy" is the best example of this, and perhaps in acknowledgement, the EP release of the track included a version of classic Australia garage rock song, "My Pal", by early Joel Silbersher band, God.
Once again teaming up with producer Jamie Hutchings and engineer Dave Trump (The Church, Big Heavy Stuff) Peabody recorded their second LP, "The New Violence". The 2005 release proved to be a more slanted and diverse offering, showcasing the musical literacy of principal songwriter, Ben Chamie. "The New Violence shows a darker side to the group, with songs that are still well crafted yet less immediate", wrote critic Mark Nielsen.
...
Wikipedia