Tex Perkins and Kim Salmon are playing in Brunswick this month
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06.07.2023

Tex Perkins and Kim Salmon are playing in Brunswick this month

Words by Bryget Chrisfield and Kim Salmon

Founding members of the Beasts of Bourbon, Tex Perkins and Kim Salmon (The Scientists) will be sharing the stage of the Brunswick Ballroom on Saturday 15th July.

“I loved making this record so much,” Tex Perkins has said of latest record Other World, “because fucking magic happened.” And it sure as hell sounds like it! Much like Tex Perkins & The Fat Rubber Band’s striking self-titled debut, this follow-up album took shape while Perkins and co-writer/guitarist Matt Walker traded song ideas “like a game of demo tennis”.

Tex Perkins & the Fat Rubber Band and Kim Salmon

  • Tex Perkins & the Fat Rubber Band
  • Special guest Kim Salmon – performing his ROOTED show
  • 6:30pm, Sat 15 July
  • Grab tickets here

Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.

With Tex Perkins & The Fat Rubber Band, every single syllable, note and percussive flourish is essential

Perkins’ opening serve became the bluesy, Bill Withers-inspired Pretty Damn Close, which features distant harmonica and casual bongo rhythms. Then Walker’s guitar-bones return volley grew into Brand New Man, with the song’s lyrical inspo striking while Perkins drove over to meet his grandson Ernie for the very first time (“I’m off to meet/ A brand new man…”).

Written by (and featuring) Lucie Thorne, standout track Around The World is elevated by Charlie Barker’s ghostly saw playing – such a forlorn-sounding instrument. Elsewhere: irresistible saloon-piano stomper The Devil Ain’t Buying – with its jangly tamba accents – gives us Stones vibes; Perkins’ 12-year-old son Louie scores a songwriting credit on The Last Drop (it was inspired by a riff he was practising at home); and the matchless unison singing throughout closer Words Fall gives us goosebumps.

Each musician brings four decades of experience to this record and every single syllable, note and percussive flourish is essential. With Other World, this self-described “bunch of hairy blokes in their 50s” have created something out of this world.

Kim Salmon on getting The Scientists back together for their new record, ‘Negativity’

On the other hand, The Scientists have found worldwide success with their unique brand of punk rock. Their seven studio albums have garnered much commercial success, with few even making their mark on the UK Indie Charts. 

Kim Salmon has been at the helm of the influential post-punk band since 1978, with a number of lineup changes taking place over the years. Their 2021 release Negativity saw the return of the band’s original lineup, marking the group’s first full-length studio release in 34 years.