‘When the morning comes gonna shed my skin’………

So begins Bernard Fanning’s second installment in a two album coupling Civil Dusk/Brutal Dawn. Renewal, realization, reconciliation and evolution are the ‘brutal’ answers to Civil Dusk’s lyricism, revision, tenderness and romance. 

Opening track ‘Shed My Skin’ lays a bare bones, hypnotic arrangement behind a mournful lyric that sees its author contemplating tomorrow’s release from prison after ’14 years’. It details hope and regret and a long held desire to make amends to loved ones he has damaged for ‘one foolish act of indifference’.  The stark internal dialogue exposes the perpetual stain that one mistake can cast across a life, backed by Salliana Campbell’s gypsy violin and Declan Kelly’s asymmetrical rhythm, it perfectly communicates the feelings of anticipation and jittery expectation that the prisoner is feeling. Clare Bowditch provides a sublime background vocal that reveals the unease and tension involved in a couple reuniting after such an extended period. 
 
Fanning’s band The Black Fins give full force to songs that speak to the perils and benefits of deep reflection.  Much of the same personnel from Civil Dusk create a dynamic record that has minimal instrumentation that reinforces the lyrics.

This is an album that has been carefully realized but manages to stay free of artifice or contrivance. It is an adept answer to the questions posed on its predecessor and points to a way forward for an artist that is wholeheartedly dedicated to the craft of songwriting and presenting them in an album format. 

Bernard Fanning
Brutal Dawn Australian Tour
With Special Guests  

FRI 6 OCT                    THE GOV                                             ADELAIDE                   SA
With special guests Oh Pep!
 
WED 11 OCT               ROSEMOUNT                                      PERTH                         WA
With special guests Teischa
 
FRI 13 OCT                  ROSEMOUNT                                      PERTH                         WA
With special guests Teischa
 
WED 18 OCT               THE TRIFFID                                       BRISBANE                   QLD
With special guest Tia Gostelow
 
FRI 20 OCT                  THE TRIFFID                                       BRISBANE                   QLD
With special guest Sahara Beck
 
THU 26 OCT                THE CROXTON                                   MELBOURNE              VIC 
With special guest Oh Pep!  
 
FRI 27 OCT                  THE CROXTON                                   MELBOURNE              VIC 
With special guest Oh Pep! 
 
SAT 28 OCT                 THE FACTORY                                     SYDNEY                       NSW
With special guest Sahara Beck
 
SUN 29 OCT                THE FACTORY                                     SYDNEY                       NSW 
With special guest Sahara Beck
 
FRI NOV 24                 GRANADA TAVERN                            HOBART                      TAS 
With special guest Maddy Jane