MP3 The Golden Circles - Playground

a collection of luscious atmospheric pop tunes from Debsi's amazing pen

12 MP3 Songs
EASY LISTENING: Lounge, ROCK: Surf Rock



Details:
Reviews and interviews

Playful pop
The Golden Circles by Nick Coppack

The first time Ben Tolliday heard The Golden Circles he knew he wanted in. Now, two years later later, he's preparing to launch the seven-piece's poppy debut album, Playground.

"I remember seeing the last show their cellist, Greg, played," Tolliday recalls. "That was at the Tongue & Groove and I was quite enchanted by Deb's songs and the instrumentation. I just remember thinking right there and then that I wanted to be a part of it."

At the time, Tolliday's band, Trinkets, were winding down and talking of "extended breaks". Joining The Golden Circles seemed a natural marriage and a relationship Tolliday threw himself into wholeheartedly.

In fact, Tolliday played an integral role in recording and mixing much of Playground.

"We decided we wanted to record the band live, so that was done over three days at Black Box Studios in July last year," the multi-instrumentalist says. "We did marimbas, guitar, bass, drums and violin there.

"Then we spent the next few months taking our time adding percussion, extra string parts, trombone and vocals at [songwriter Deb Cavallaro's] amazing house in Hamilton. Deb lives in this wonderful 1850s apartment building that overlooks the Brisbane River. She's got so many weird and wonderful instruments and we had a lot of fun experimenting with different sounds."

While the band had the luxury of completing the album at their own leisure and without the financial and time constraints that accompany studio recordings, Tolliday was careful not to get carried away.

"With the Trinkets album we kept adding and adding, so I was wary of not doing too much," he says. "When it comes to mixing, you know you've gone too far if you have to keep pulling things out of the mix to make it sound better. I tried hard not to let it get to that stage."

Intricate yet easily accessible, The Golden Circles craft heavenly pop that's as soothing as it is danceable. But for all its pop sensibilities, there's a darker mood simmering underneath.

"They're pretty much all Deb's songs, except 'Gonna Love You', which was written by [singer Becky Jurss] and Deb," Tolliday says. "People say, 'Oh, the music's so sweet', but when you listen to the lyrics there are a few barbs in there. I'm really into that juxtaposition. The Smiths are a classic example of happy sounding music with pretty tragic lyrics."

The band's music also shifts time signatures often and seldom follows predictable paths.

"It can be quite difficult to play," Tolliday admits. "It's definitely not your average rock. There's a lot of weirder elements in the songs and I found them quite hard when I first joined. That said, I don't think it's overly intellectual or wanky."

While The Golden Circles launch Playground at new venue The Globe this weekend, Tolliday says he can't help but have one eye on the future.

"Deb's got another six or seven songs on the go already and everyone's looking forward to recording again. She's a bit of a songwriting machine!"

The Golden Circles launch Playground (Phonostatique Records) at The Globe (old Valley Twin cinemas on Brunswick St) Sunday Jul 2.


back to top

The Golden Circles is a dynamic seven-piece band playing atmospheric pop that
shimmers and swoons. The lounge room is awash with marimba, velvety vocals,
strings and trombone, guitars hum, a theremin glides, drums fill and roll.
The Golden Circles are Deborah Cavallaro (silky smooth vocals, marimba and guitar),
Beck Jurss (more silky smooth vocals, accordion, glock and percussion),
Greta Kelly (violin and percussion), Leon Dufficy (Bass,Theremin, Guitar and Keys),
Rodney Turpin (trombone and percussion), Peter Willemsen (drums),
Pat Ridgewell (filling in on Guitar/Bass for Ben Tolliday).


Songwriter Deborah has been making music in Brisbane for many years.
Deborah's previous projects include indie pop/rock combo Dragster (who
toured the world in the mid-nineties) and alt-art-roll band Wondrous Fair.

The Golden Circles launched their debut album, Playground in mid 2005.
Playground is a diverse collection of 11 songs and one instrumental track.
There are catchy Bacharachesque marimba driven lounge
tunes, guitar-driven punchy pop songs that get stuck
in your head, and the final titular track is a whispered
lullaby that speaks to the child in all of us.