The New Christs - We Got This!
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THE NEW CHRISTS

Title: We Got This!
Label: Laughing Outlaw (Australia)
Catalogue No: (lorcd044)
Format: CD (album)
Released: October 2002
Price: $ 28.00

This disc took quite a time to be released having been stranded in the studio it was recorded in waiting for the bills to be paid and the band to stop fighting long enough to find someone to release it. Anyway, it arrived and if you are a fan of this band you're not going to be disappointed. Acerbic and to the point in a way only Younger can present.

Track Listing: (62:38 m:s)
  1. We Got This! (M Wilkinson / R Younger) (3:12 m:s)
  2. First Plane Home (M Wilkinson / R Younger) (4:16 m:s)
  3. Shivnarine (C Houllemare / R Younger) (3:06 m:s)*
  4. Groovy Times (M Wilkinson / R Younger) (5:42 m:s)*!
  5. He's Too Slow (M Wilkinson / R Younger) (2:45 m:s)
  6. Impeachment (R Younger) (3:15 m:s)
  7. Spit It Out (C Houllemare / R Younger) (4:23 m:s)
  8. Nadir (Is It You?) (M Wilkinson / R Younger) (4:54 m:s)
  9. Sombrero (R Younger) (2:50 m:s)
  10. Sunny Day Sun (M Wilkinson / R Younger) (5:13 m:s)*
  11. Khartoum (R Younger) (5:45 m:s)
  12. On Top Of Me (R Younger) (4:50 m:s)*!
  13. I Deny Everything (C Houllemare / R Younger) (4:18 m:s)
  14. Intercourse (M Wilkinson / R Younger) (3:59 m:s)
  15. The Party Died (R Younger) (4:02 m:s)
The Musicians:
Rob Younger - Vocals & Guitar track 12  •  Christian Houllemare - Bass & Harmonica  •  Stuart Wilson - Drums & Percussion  •  Mark Wilkinson - Guitar & Keyboards  •  Alan Creed - Guitar & Keyboards with Nik Rieth - Drums & Percussion Tracks 3, 4, 10, 12
Technical Details:
Recorded by Daniel Clinch at Velvet Studios Sydney 2001  •  Mixed by Wayne Connolly at Milk Bar Studios Sydney 2002  •  * Recorded by Russell Pilling at Damien Gerard Studios Sydney 1999  •  ! mixed by Russell Pilling at Damien Gerard Studios Sydney 2000
Of Interest: Press Release Sept 2002

Music is a calling for Rob Younger, erstwhile lead singer of Australian rock legends Radio Birdman and leader of The New Christs, a band that has persevered on the Australian music scene for nigh on two decades. The intensity of that calling burns through every New Christs record ever made, including this one. It's unfortunately an intensity that also seems to consume the players in the band, as The New Christs have had a history of line-up explosions. And without fail, after a period of cooling, Younger constructs another line-up, picks up the yoke and puts the bit in his teeth again for another pull.

This recording is no different - to some extent it's a bit of a miracle that it's seeing commercial release. It was supposed to be The New Christs' chance to really be heard - a deal with a good-sized American label promised an international audience. But the label went bankrupt while the band was recording, the sessions unpaid for and the tapes seized for ransom by the studio. This proved to be the catalyst for yet another band collapse. Laughing Outlaw Records bailed out the tapes and enlisted talented producer Wayne Connolly (You Am I, Knievel) to complete the project with Younger at Sydney's Milk Bar Studios.

When a band splits, it's like a divorce - often the players themselves don't understand what happened, and as for an outsider, there's no chance. And if the songs can be described as children of the former union, these children are products of their environment. In this case they've turned out intelligent, hard edged and intense, sometimes bitter, occasionally a little vulnerable, almost always tough as nails, prone to sarcasm and biting humour, asking and giving no quarter, conceding nothing. They're going to do fine.

Most bands that would like to think they share influences with The New Christs couldn't even imagine making tunes with all the subtle nuances contained in these tracks... this is that rarest of music, combining visceral rock power with intelligence, musicianship and poetic imagery. Listen to the maximum fuzz guitar of We Got This!, bop to the staggering drums and almost oriental guitar theme of the high wire First Plane Home, feel your skin tingle with tension as Shivnarine spins up. Then be bludgeoned by that hard hitting riff that powers Groovy Times and get shaken by the driving He's Too Slow ... hell, we're all too slow at this tempo. There's a stain of dark bitterness in Impeachment followed by a sense of defiant, resurgent hope in Spit It Out. The gripping, riveting Nadir (Is It You?) makes a simple business lunch sound like an act of high treason. The huge chords offset by synthesizer (what Stooges influenced band would dare use synthesizer? And make it work?) give Sombrero an incredibly rich atmosphere. Sun Sunny Day feels like a threat - like it's about the last one you'll ever see. In Khartoum the line It's a habit, not a calling leaps out - there it is again, that separating motive. Then On Top Of Me shimmers down with its gorgeous leads and passionate vocals: Once upon a time a promise was a promise. I Deny Everything bounces musically but drips sarcasm: I'm busy faking it, but aren't we all? There's a sense of desperation resolved in Intercourse, and a smashing fatalism in the prophetic The Party Died, which is about a girl but could be about a band, this band. That shit is pre-ordained.

So this is it, the last New Christs record ever. And sure enough, it IS the sound of a band playing like they'll never play again. An incredible, passionate, intelligent and intense record that's sure to top many "best of the year" lists. But don't give up on the possibility of a next one. Any man can break a habit. But a man with a calling doesn't ever quit.   (Adapted from notes by Steve Gardner, The Big Takeover Magazine)

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