At the beginning of last year, The Art Of Fighting’s Peggy Frew – also a best-selling, prize-winning novelist – started writing what would become her debut solo album instead of working on a novel, and we’re all the richer for her musical detour.
“I walked around the city/ Still drunk and so lonely/ August ‘97/ A silver day…” – Newtown – the first song written for this record – pairs forlorn, descending melodies with evocative lyrical specificity.
Navigating the Off Season Blues, formative experiences down at the beach house, looking up crushes’ names in the phonebook, trying desperately not to look like you‘re trying too hard – Dial-Up isn’t for the casual listener; you’ll wanna savour every moment.
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According to Frew, focus track Save Your Love – the record’s “doomed end-of-childhood romance”, which features improvised clarinet – documents teen memories “of catching a dawn bus back to Naarm/Melbourne from a relative’s house in a small coastal town: drinking hot coffee at a roadhouse café with the first streaks of pink light showing in the dark sky outside”.
We can tell spontaneity and curiosity were embraced during Dial-Up’s creative process. Nothing’s overstated or overbaked, yet it drips with atmosphere (think: sadcore Julee Cruise).
Listening to Dial-Up feels like walking arm in arm with Frew, with her conversational vocal melodies guiding us through a series of recollections. It’s storytime for the enlightened, enhanced by sparse, nuanced instrumentation (including singing bowl).
LABEL: SAD FROG/ REMOTE CONTROL RECORDS
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
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