Click the Play buttons
to listen to individual tracks
To play the album as you browse
open minitunes or itunes players
To play music you will need Adobe Flash Player 8.0 or above
Heavy Weather
Released 2002
Heavy Weather
What they were saying... about Heavy Weather
Splurge was one of Triple M’s national Unsigned Find artists early in 2002. The band’s CD launch at the Cornish Arms, Melbourne, in July 2002 attracted an audience of 225. Heavy Weather was released in the UK.
The ghost of John Lennon...
MOJO Magazine (UK), January 2003
"Second album from the song-packing Melbourne four-piece. They rock, they play it gentle, they deliver the hooks. The ghost of Lennon pervades I Have No Control or the shimmering She's Got No Soul, but how bad is that?"
Wonderfully melodic pop songs...
Malcolm Carter, Pennyblack Music (UK)
“With ‘Heavy Weather’ Splurge have produced an album full of such wonderfully melodic pop songs that the name of Oasis springs to mind... but they have yet to come up with melodies so strong as those shown on tracks like ‘Come Monday Morning’ or ‘Heavy Weather’. They’ve also never turned out a tune so tender and gorgeous as ‘She’s Got No Soul’. There are a number of bands who can turn out good, melodic pop songs but not many come to mind who do it with the confidence, feeling and passion that Splurge do here. They make it seem so easy.”
A stellar effort...
Oz Music Project
"Heavy Weather is a delectable treat that shows not only a keen eye for delicious pop treats, but also an emotive honesty that instantly warms to the listener. A stellar effort that most bands would kill for...
The opening track Come Monday Morning emanates a hopefulness with a alt-country lite feel. I See That Now follows thematically in the same path, albeit with more of a spaced guitar-centric start that moves into a richly melodic pop song. I Have No Control shows a more electronically aided rock effort that raises the tempo to a Alex Lloyd styled track.
Contrast this to the acoustic pop of the title track and the very gorgeous gentleness of She's Got No Soul, the variety of this album is fairly staggering.”
Confidence, ability and conviction...
Pop Culture Press (Austin, Texas), Issue 54
“In my book, eclecticism is the mark of a significant musical talent. And this eclecticism cannot be faked or forced, it is a skill and an attitude that an artist either possesses or doesn't. Splurge hails from Australia and with its sophomore collection of original songs displays quite assuredly an eclectic mix of styles that displays confidence and ability.
Furthermore, do not be fooled by the apparent stylistic focus as showcased by the opening Come Monday Morning and I See That Now, which suggest the languid, West Coast folk-inflected power pop favoured by many an Aussie garage band with Teenage Fanclub references chiming and ringing their way into your heart. Splurge has much more to offer. This is immediately evident in the reverberating chords of the funky complaint I Have No Control, the cool and soulful She's Got No Soul, the poignant, acoustic-flavoured Because You're Mine and the gritty, Stonesy, horn-laden What's The Matter With Me.”
Liam with a brain!
Sebastian Skeet, The Drum Media
“The tunes come thick and fast here with some extraordinary production values for an indie band especially on the guitar sounds, similar to Travis and perhaps even up there with The Church. Lyrically Splurge come over like Liam from Oasis with a brain. There is a beatleesque and Oasis sound to some of these tunes.
I Have No Control is a clever riffing song with nasty yet believable lyrics. The opener Come Monday Morning is a well developed song building up over a bed of guitars the perfect introduction to the album. Shes Got No Soul is indicative of Splurges innate ability to meld melody and mood purposely. The use of brass gives the tune a whole epic lease of life. On Whats The Matter With Me, singer Williams turns into Mick Jagger, getting it on with a bit of distorted vocal, alright!”
Comfy, lovable and just a little bit scruffy...
Naomi Milthorpe - BMA Canberra Yearbook Dec 2001
“This album fit around me like a warm jumper; comfy, lovable and just a little bit scruffy. Spontaneous, honest guitars; simple and effective rhythms... team that with witty lyrics and what you're left with is a superb left-of-centre folk rock album from this great Melbourne four-piece. Highlight tracks are the beautiful To be in Love, She's Got no Soul, and I Have no Control, which has the fantastic lyric, "I am not your lover, just your flunkey/ and I've been hanging onto you like a hopeless fucking junkie". There are five bonus tracks taken from their previous, self titled album, these, plus the new tracks, show an assured band onto a good thing.”
One breakdown to another...
After Splurge and before Heavy Weather there was a little record called Tintinara Breakdown—how it came to be made is another story—but it involved the two Gregs from Splurge, a log cabin, two acoustic guitars, a canoe and 10 songs arranged and recorded live over one weekend.
When Splurge came to record its second album soon after we were still buzzing from working this way and so, with Greg Arnold as producer, we set out to make a band record as if it was an acoustic album, putting the songs first.
We thrashed out arrangements of the songs on acoustic guitars over a couple of days in Greg’s kitchen and then we took them to the band. To keep the performances on Heavy Weather as live and fresh as possible, Splurge then recorded the basic tracks for the short-listed 10 songs after only a few rehearsals.
After that we ‘went bush’ again back up to The Cabin in Hall’s Gap for another long weekend, recording most of the remaining vocal and guitar tracks, before returning to the studio for a few more sessions and mixing.
Working fast, it doesn't always go right. One song didn’t make the jump from acoustic (Under Your Thumb) so we conjured To Be In Love in the studio one day and in another session—the same day we lost the demonic cellos and the pilfered Heart riff on I Have No Control—What’s The Matter With Me found its new mojo.
Listen to the old mix... | Get bonus audio track with Digital Download...
Nev and Greg worked out the track order in about five minutes on a page in my diary... those were the days.
Splurge:
Greg Williams: singing, rhythm guitars, tambourine
Neville Hill: guitars, bass
Greg Arnold: singing, bass, guitars, piano, hammond
Owen Smythe: drums, percussion
Guests:
The Martini Seven Brass: Paul Erdley—saxophone; Steve Kellock—trumpet; Mark Mason—trombone (arranged by Paul on She’s Got No Soul and What’s The Matter With Me)
Mal Pinkerton—cello (Come Monday Morning and Because You’re Mine)
Chriss Roberts—keyboards (I Have No Control)
Dallas Rayner—keyboards (Rise and Fall)
Produced by Greg Arnold.
Recorded by David McCluney at Atlantis in Melbourne
and The Cabin in Hall’s Gap.
Mixed at Atlantis.
Mastered by Martin Pullan at Edensound.
All songs written by Greg Williams, Control
with Neville Hill, Control (1, 4) and Greg Arnold, Rondor (2).
Artwork by Chris Bowden and Buck Naked Graphic Design.
Unauthorised public performance, broadcasting and copying of these recordings is prohibited.
All rights of the record producer and owner of the work reserved © ℗ Greg Williams 2001.
