The Wreckery
 | This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (December 2019) |
The Wreckery | |
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| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
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The Wreckery were an Australian rock and blues band. Their sound is best described as alt rock, bastard blues or southern gothic [citation needed]. The band formed from the debris of the awe-inspiring but well-before-their-time band [citation needed]: Plays With Marionettes (the band supported a number of early Fall gigs, leaving Mark.E.Smith visibly stunned and befuddled show after show [citation needed]). The famous Australian musicologist Ian McFarlane described the group as “inner-city angst kings which proffered a lurching brand of gutbucket St Kilda blues by way of the Mississippi delta. It was a fiery sound totally unique in Australia at the time”. Race was described as “enigmatic, petulant … whose bleak visions stabbed at the heart of the human condition”.
The Wreckery coalesced in January 1985 with Hugo Race on Guitar and vocals, Robin Casinader on drums, piano, Hammond organ, guitar and violin (Casinader was internally regarded as the band's secret weapon); Edward Clayton-Jones on guitar, organ and vocals; Tadeusz O'Biegly on bass guitar; Charles Todd on saxophone and organ. By December of 1985 Nick Barker replaced O'Biegly on bass guitar.
The band issued a number of singles and EPs as well as two studio albums: Here at Pain's Insistence (August 1987) and Laying Down Law (1988). Sadly, the band disbanded in mid-1989, in large part, as a result of tensions around the worth of golden triangle imports [citation needed]. The band reunited in 2008, after a long period of dormancy, and in doing so humiliated a raft of contemporary bands who were simply unable to match the power and genius of The Wreckery [citation needed]. This period saw the band release their long-awaited compilation album entitled: Past Imperfect.
History
The Wreckery formed in January 1985 in Melbourne by Robin Casinader on drums, piano, Hammond organ, guitar and violin (ex-Plays with Marionettes, Horla); Edward Clayton-Jones on guitar, organ and vocals (ex-Fabulous Marquises, Plays with Marionettes, Horla, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds); Tadeusz O'Biegly on bass guitar; Hugo Race on lead vocals and guitar (ex-Plays with Marionettes, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and Charles Todd on saxophone and organ (ex-Wild Dog Rodeo, Cattletruck).[1]
Mark Deming of AllMusic opined that they were "One of the more important bands on the Australian post-punk scene of the 1980s, Melbourne's the Wreckery played dark, atmospheric music informed by the blues and the same sort of chemical and cultural obsessions as their contemporaries Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds."[2] While Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, noticed they were "Led by the enigmatic, petulant Hugo Race, whose bleak visions stabbed at the heart of the human condition, [the group] defied conventional approaches to plough a deep furrow of dark romantic melodrama."[1]
Casinader and Race had been band mates in Dum Dum Fit (1978), before forming Plays with Marionettes with Clayton-Jones.[1][3] Clayton-Jones and Race with both members of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.[1][3] In early April 1985 the Wreckery recorded their debut five-track mini-album, I Think This Town Is Nervous (Hot Records, December), at Melbourne's Dex Studios.[1][4] Nick Barker (ex-Curse, Reptile Smile) had replaced O'Biegly on bass guitar.[1][3]
During 1986 the group's concerts were broadcast on ABC-TV's Edge of the Wedge and on SBS-TV's The Noise.[1] In April of that year they recorded their second EP, Yeh My People (Rampant Records, January 1987).[1] The EP provided their single, "No Shoes for This Road".[1] According to McFarlane, "Race wrote the bulk of the band's material, although one of the standout tracks on Yeh My People was Clayton-Jones' tremulous 'Overload'."[1] Deming observed that "like its precursor, [it] did well on the Australian indie charts and helped the band become a frequent presence on the touring circuit."[2]
The Wreckery issued their first full-length studio album, Here at Pain's Insistence, in August 1987 via Rampant Records.[1][5] The group produced it with Bruce Johnson as audio engineer.[5] Andree Coelli of The Canberra Times interviewed Todd, who explained "It's a good progression from the last album, the songs are probably better defined, not so much in style and music, but the songwriting is maturing. It's not the same for every track, there are some twisted songs and some not-so-twisted songs."[5] McFarlane felt it "was a consolidation of the band's thematic approach."[1] In November the album provided a single, "Everlasting Sleep", which McFarlane found was "beguiling".[1]
A four-track EP, Ruling Energy, appeared in February 1988, which McFarlane opined displayed "four more slices of moody, rough-shod R&B."[1] The group followed with a compilation album, The Collection, in October on Rampant Records.[1] However the label was "having financial problems" and the Wreckery signed with Citadel Records to release their second studio album, Laying Down Law, in October, which had been preceded by the single, "Good to Be Gone", in August.[1]
Deming preferred the second album, which is "regarded by many as the group's strongest work."[2] Barker, Clayton-Jones and Todd had all left soon after the album was recorded in early 1988.[1] Deming noted that "tensions within the band, exaggerated by touring and health issues, came to a head, and by the time Laying Down the Law was released, the Wreckery had already chosen to split up after a brief tour."[2] During 1988 Casinader shifted over to guitar and keyboards while they added two new members: Brian Colechin on bass guitar (ex-Marching Girls) and John Murphy on drums (ex-News, Whirlywirld, Associates, Slub).[1] After the tour, in mid-1989, the Wreckery disbanded.[1]
In August 2008 Casinader and Race reformed the group to release a 2× CD album, Past Imperfect, with a tour of the east coast in support.[6]
Discography
Studio albums
- Here at Pain's Insistence (14 August 1987) – Rampant Records[1]
- Laying down Law (1988) - Citadel Records
Compilation albums
- The Collection (October 1988) – Rampant Records[1]
- Past Imperfect (August 2008) – Memorandum Recordings[6]
Extended plays
- I Think This Town Is Nervous (December 1985) – Hot Records (HOTM4)[4]
- Yeh My People (January 1987) – Rampant Records (MLRR012)[1]
- Ruling Engergy (February 1988) – Rampant Records[1]
Singles
- "No Shoes for This Road" (1987)
- "Everlasting Sleep" (1987)
References
- General
- McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Whammo Homepage". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 5 April 2004. Retrieved 14 June 2017. Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.
- Specific
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w McFarlane, 'The Wreckery' entry. Archived from the original on 19 April 2004. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d Deming, Mark. "Wreckery | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ a b c The Wreckery related entries at Australian Rock Database:
- Robin Casinader:Holmgren, Magnus. "Robin Casinader". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- Hugo Race:Holmgren, Magnus. "Hugo Race". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- Nick Barker:Holmgren, Magnus. "Nick Barker". hem.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ a b Wreckery (1985), I think this town is nervous, Hot Records, retrieved 14 June 2017
- ^ a b c Coelli, Andree (13 August 1987). "Good Times: A Band Does It Their Way". The Canberra Times. Vol. 61, no. 18, 941. p. 22. Retrieved 15 June 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b Clough, Courtney. "Real Radio – The Wreckery on Culture Clash". PBS 106.7FM. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2017.