The so-called 'next big thing' in Australian rock is oft-touted, but rarely delivered. So it's unusual then, when you get an album in the post where every song leaps out and drags you in, where the song-writing is so fresh, so honest, and so original for a change, but also where, for all its immediacy and accessibility, never sounds like some dumbed-down predictable play for high rotation. In the case of Melbourne's Trial Kennedy, they are that band.
Produced by Atlanta-based uber-producer Nick Didia - a man whose show-reel sports the likes of Powderfinger, Audioslave, Incubus, Stone Temple Pilots, etc - the yet-to-be-titled album is nothing short of a startling debut. Wielding as much grunt as gravitas, it remains at heart, a bare-boned rock record.
As incendiary as it is both intuitive and underplayed, the guitar-work of Stacey Gray leaves most other players looking like two-bit hacks. In a world populated by power chords and cheesy progressions, Gray employs off-kilter lead-lines, jazzy inversions and tasteful arpeggios, crafting a veritable soundscape of textured guitar. But as much as his inspired interplay with the rock solid rhythm section of bassist Aaron Malcolmson and drummer Shaun Gionis is the key to Trial Kennedy's originality, no one would dispute vocalist Tim Morrison is the star of the show. We're talking one spectacular instrument here. To say his is one of the most exciting new voices in rock is an understatement - his stratospheric range, gritty power, uncanny phrasing, melodic sensibility, and the way he seamlessly moves from full-tilt rock scream to delicate falsetto and every velocity in between, is simply jaw-dropping. And while the singer's Australian inflection is unmistakable, he somehow manages to make it never sound parochial nor affected.
If there is signature to Trial Kennedy's sound, it's their uncanny talent to be able to suddenly shift in transition from dark to light, despair to joy, anger to jubilance, all in an instant without ever seeming jarring. It's clear they flex a musical muscle rare amongst their peers. Surprising then, to learn all four members met in high school, grew up jamming together and, in a case of almost prescient coincidence, shared the same guitar teacher. "A guy called Mark Kennedy taught us, before some of us even knew each other," relays Gray. "Hence the band name - we all 'trialled' off him. And I don't think we ever really took it seriously, until we decided to change our name to `Trial Kennedy'. After that, things started to happen."
An inclusion on a sampler saw the band's fortunes change gear. "All these people were suddenly contacting us saying `this song is amazing - how's this guy's voice!?'" chuckles Gray. Securing both management and a national booking agent, Trial Kennedy toured and toured hard. National and international support slots alike opened up. They became billed on the best festivals, earning a reputation as perhaps a lesser-known band but one who were always the surprise hit on the day. At the same time, the band developed a productive working relationship with local producer extraordinaire Kalju Tonuma, honing their sound. The partnership resulted in the cutting of two killer EPs, Present For A Day (2004) and Picture Frame (2006), that boasted their own share of great songs. It was these releases along with the band's growing live reputation that saw Trial Kennedy ink a deal with Gotham Records. As the band's fanbase multiplied, a successful pilot single The Great Escape followed, all of which in turn led to the new album with Nick Didia at the helm.
Their album in the bag, the Trial Kennedy boys' ultimate goal is to put the band in a position whereby their art is never again compromised by monetary concerns: "We've worked our arses off for this," states Stacey honestly. "We've sacrificed everything - other careers, jobs, relationships. It's been a struggle." If their forthcoming album is anything to go by, then the band have little to worry about. Without question, Trial Kennedy will be an important band on the Australian rock landscape in the years to come.
