Pop culture references are a dime a dozen, nowadays. Taking influence from McCarthy’s The Road, Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, and Shute’s On The Beach to create a 12-track concept album focusing on love in an apocalyptic landscape? Not so common.
Jimi Beavis’ new album, Post-Apocalyptic Love Songs has a shiny shell at first glance, but beneath it bubbles a dark and dirty soul – Beavis draws influence from pop culture, twisted true-life headlines, and strange-but-true personal encounters to populate the album with characters recounting tales of death, mistakes, helplessness, and the thoughts of how to start again once the world ends.
Pop culture references are a dime a dozen, nowadays. Taking influence from McCarthy’s The Road, Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, and Shute’s On The Beach to create a 12-track concept album focusing on love in an apocalyptic landscape? Not so common.
Jimi Beavis’ new album, Post-Apocalyptic Love Songs has a shiny shell at first glance, but beneath it bubbles a dark and dirty soul – Beavis draws influence from pop culture, twisted true-life headlines, and strange-but-true personal encounters to populate the album with characters recounting tales of death, mistakes, helplessness, and the thoughts of how to start again once the world ends.
The first single, “At Least It’s Better Than Home” truly exemplified the overall tone of the album – the opening harmonica, jaunty guitar and light harmonies a deceptive veil to the Goliard-inspired dark (yet strangely optimistic) story Beavis sings of.
With his debut Gentleman Giant, Beavis rooted himself firmly in a blues stance, garnering consistent praise for a sweltering, swaggering collection of tracks. Beavis, however, drew upon an ever expanding range of influences from his growing obsession with the fringes of doo-wop, pop, and soul: “I felt restricted writing solely in the blues ‘style’. Some of the new songs date back to 2004, when I was in my early 20s and just starting to write, so those melodies have been jumping around in my head until I had the musical knowledge to write down the chords and record a demo – in that time, they’ve morphed to bring in influence from Waits, Wilco, New Orleans, dirty rock-and-roll…a bit of everything.”
Post-Apocalyptic Love Songs is a veritable playground of exploration. While it draws upon Beavis’ blues roots, Post-Apocalyptic Love Songs also folds in elements of Americana, funk, and soul; a restless concoction of musical innovation.
JIMI BEAVIS
POST-APOCALYPTIC LOVE SONGS ALBUM LAUNCHES
JUNE 24TH
The Bearded Lady – Brisbane, QLD
JULY 1ST
Currumbin Creek Tavern – Gold Coast, QLD
AUGUST 20TH
The Motor Room – Brisbane, QLD