Havilah (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Havilah
Type = Studio
Longtype =
Artist = The Drones


Released = September 20, 2008
Recorded = April, 2008
Genre = Alternative
Length =
Label = ATP Recordings
MGM Distribution
Producer = Burke Reid
Gareth Liddiard
Reviews = *"The Age" [http://www.theage.com.au/news/cd-reviews/havilah/2008/09/11/1220857724809.html link]
*"Alternative Media Group" rating|4.5|5 [http://www.alternativemediagroup.com/ThreadView.aspx?tid=8939 link]
*"Mess+Noise" [http://www.messandnoise.com/releases/2000141 link]
*"Rave Magazine" rating|4.5|5 [http://www.ravemagazine.com.au/content/view/11298/180/ link]
*"Sydney Morning Herald" [http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/music/cd-reviews/havilah/2008/09/26/1222217488356.html link]
*"Tsunami Mag" (9.5/10) [http://www.tsunamimag.com/articles/the-drones---havilah-9-5-10.html link]
*"Wireless Bollinger" (94/100) [http://www.wirelessbollinger.com/content/view/1708/75/ link]
Compiled by =
Chronology =
Last album = "Live at the Annandale Hotel 18th, 19th October 2007"
(2008)
This album = "Havilah"
(2008)
Next album =
Misc = Singles
Name = Havilah
Type = studio
single 1 = The Minotaur
single 1 date = July 29, 2008

"Havilah " is the fourth studio album by Australian band The Drones, released in September 2008 by ATP Recordings. The title of the album is a biblical reference to a Shangri-La-esque town (Havilah) with an abundance of gold. It is also the name of a valley near where the album was recorded.cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/music/a-country-harvest/2008/09/25/1222217392352.html |title=A country harvest|publisher=The Age |last=Donovan|first=Patrick|date=2008-09-26|accessdate=2008-09-30] The album debuted at #47 on the Australian album charts. [cite web |url=http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_album.asp?chart=1G50 |title=ARIA Top 50 album charts |publisher=Australian Recording Industry Association |date=2008-09-29 |accessdate=2008-09-30]

The album was recorded at the mud-brick home of lead singer Gareth Liddiard and his partner/band bassist Fiona Kitschin, outside Myrtleford (at the base of Victoria’s Mount Buffalo).

"It's like a little world unto itself in the forest. It's a beautiful place. You can't always find a good spot to record, but if you can find a house like this that's a bonus." - Liddiard [cite web |url=http://www.atpfestival.com/atp-recordings/the-drones/|title=Havilah album news|publisher=ATP Recordings |accessdate=2008-09-30]

"It was a great place to write and record. We were literally in the middle of a sub-alpine forest. We had no electricity, just diesel generators. It’d be just about the only record made on a diesel budget." - Liddiard [cite web |url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/14886/The-Drones.htm?city=5 |title=The Drones|publisher=Louder.com.au|date=2008-09-15|accessdate=2008-09-30]

To shake up his songwriting, Liddiard was reading four books at once, and using internet packages to jumble words and create unimaginable phrases – a technique similar to the labour intensive ‘cut up’ techniques employed by writer William Burroughs and singer David Bowie in the pre-web era, where they cut up words on paper and jumbled them up.cite web |url=http://www.musicaustraliaguide.com/articles/soundcheck/200809_thedronestriumph| title=The Drones Triumph|Publisher=Music Australia Guide|last=Ryan|first=Peter|accessdate=2008-09-30]

“I made a conscious effort to put my head in the sand. “You start working, you have a coffee in the morning, and any self-doubt falls away" - Liddiard

The album was produced and engineered by Burke Reid (The Mess Hall, Gerling) who had to set up a mobile studio in the house, powered by a diesel engine.

The first single lifted off the album, "The Minotaur", was released as a digital single on July 29, 2008. [cite web |url=http://www.hotsource.com.au/news/914/The_Drones_New_Single__The_Minotaur|title=The Drones New Single – The Minotaur |publisher=Hot Source|date=2008-07-10|accessdate=2008-09-30]

Track listing

All songs written by Gareth Liddiard [cite web |title=Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA)|publisher=APRA |url=http://www.apra.com.au/cms/worksearch/worksearch.srvlt |accessdate=2008-09-30 Note: requires user to input title, e.g. NAIL IT DOWN]
# "Nail It Down" - 6:53
# "The Minotaur" – 3:25
# "The Drifting Housewife" - 4:01
# "I Am the Supercargo" - 6:20
# "Careful as You Go" - 5:02
# "Oh My" - 4:43
# "Cold and Sober" - 5:05
# "Luck in Odd Numbers" - 8:36
# "Penumbra" - 3:53
# "Your Acting’s Like the End of the World" - 5:21

Reviews

* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/cd-reviews/havilah/2008/09/11/1220857724809.html The Age newspaper]
* [http://www.ravemagazine.com.au/content/view/11298/180/ Rave magazine]
* [http://www.tsunamimag.com/articles/the-drones---havilah-9-5-10.html Tsunami magazine]

References