ORB release new single ‘You Do’. The latest track to be lifted from their long-awaited new album ‘Tailem Bend’
Australian psych/rock heavyweights ORB have released their new single ‘You Do’. The latest track to be lifted from their long-awaited new album ‘Tailem Bend’, their fourth studio album and first in six years lands July 12th on Fuzz Club worldwide and Flightless Records in Australia. You can pre-order special Fuzz Club, Levitation and Rough Trade limited edition variants here
New single ‘You Do’ cruises on a ‘70s psych-pop groove warped under the Pacific sun – snaking through syncopated percussion, funky wah licks and flute. On the track, the band say: “Just like the Murray River of Tailem Bend, a small rural town with a name that made us think of some lost prog act when we passed it on tour, You Do is one of the many sharp turns on the new record. It features our old Frowning Clouds bandmate Nick van Bakel (now of Bananagun) on congas and Ashley Goodall on backing vocals."
Saturated in vintage warmth and depth, ‘Tailem Bend’ showcases ORB’s knack for achieving tuneful hypnosis amidst a dank roominess. As signalled by the cover artwork from Parsnip’s Paris Richens – which depicts either a swan or a fish, depending on how you look at it – ORB have returned with an album that rewards taking it in from multiple angles. There’s plenty of the band we know and love, but there’s also enough of the new to prompt a healthy succession of double takes.
There are still the inevitable avalanches of fuzz, but also present now are mellower passages and a renewed focus on rhythm and space. It’s not a wholesale departure, but it’s distinctive enough to be reflected in the album title itself. The source? Tailem Bend is a quiet town in South Australia whose name was evocative enough to catch the band’s collective eye on tour. Conjuring images for them of some lost prog act, the name reportedly derives from the Ngarrindjeri word “thelim”, referring to a sharp bend in the nearby Murray River. That made it especially suited to a record that packs many dramatic turns of its own – all without breaking its natural flow.
It also helps that Zak Olsen (guitar/bass/vocals), David Gravolin (guitar/bass) and Jamie Harmer (drums) have now been playing together for a decade and a half, dating back to their long run in their teenaged band The Frowning Clouds. That shared history absolutely informs Tailem Bend, which reunites the core trio with producer Tim Dunn (who helmed several Frowning Clouds albums) and a guest conga player in Frowning Clouds bandmate Nick van Bakel (now the leader of Bananagun). Half of the album also features The Murlocs’ Callum Shortal, who often augments ORB as a second guitarist live. And listen out for Jesse Williams (Leah Senior, Girlatones, Baby Blue) on piano and backing vocals from Emma Bailey and Ashley Goodall.
