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Weirder & Weirder
Studio album by
Ball Park Music
Released27 May 2022 (2022-05-27)
Recorded2021
GenreIndie rock
Length46:02
LabelPrawn Records (independent)
ProducerBall Park Music
Ball Park Music chronology
Ball Park Music
(2020) 		Weirder & Weirder
(2022)
Singles from Weirder & Weirder
  1. "Sunscreen"
    Released: 25 October 2021
  2. "Stars in My Eyes"
    Released: 23 February 2022
  3. "Manny"
    Released: 5 May 2022

Weirder & Weirder is the seventh studio album by Australian indie rock band Ball Park Music, released on 27 May 2022 through Prawn Records. It peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart and was nominated for Best Independent Album and Best Rock Album at the 2022 ARIA Awards. It won Album of the Year at the 2023 Queensland Music Awards.[1] At the AIR Awards of 2023, the album was nominated for Best Independent Rock Album or EP.[2]

Lead single "Sunscreen" polled at number 21 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2021 and "Stars in My Eyes" polled at number eight in the 2022 countdown.[3]

Background

In October 2020, the band released their sixth studio album Ball Park Music, which peaked at number 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the 2021 ARIA Awards, it was nominated for Best Independent Release and Best Rock Album.[4] The same month as the album's release, the band was featured on Triple J's Like a Version segment, covering Radiohead's "Paranoid Android".[5]

Release

The band's first new track since 2020, "Sunscreen", was released as the lead single for a then-untitled seventh album, alongside a music video on 28 October 2021.[6] In Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2021, the track polled at number 21.[7]

In February 2022, Ball Park Music announced their seventh album would be titled Weirder & Weirder and that it would release on 3 June.[8] However, this release date was later pushed forward to 27 May.[9] Upon the announcement of the album and its artwork,[10] which was designed by artist Polly Bass Boost, frontman Samuel Cromack wrote via social media:

For more than a year we danced and dodged, fought and flirted with this music. Sometimes we had focused, frenzied periods of intense work; recordings popped up like daisies every which way you looked. Other times we thawed; the soft, slow heartbeat of the process swinging us far and wide with self-doubt.[7]

"Stars in My Eyes" followed as the album's second single in February, described by Ellie Robinson of NME as bearing "retro pop influences" with a "lowkey slate of jangly, slightly fuzzy strums and frontman Sam Cromack’s wistful tenor".[11] "Manny", the third and final single, was released in May.[12]

Upon the album's release, it was made Triple J's Feature Album.[13] The band embarked on the nationwide Weirder & Weirder Tour on 3 June 2022, their first headlining show in three years, supported by King Stingray, Teenage Joans and Rat!Hammock.[14]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The AU Review[15]
The Australian[16]

Dylan Marshall of music publication The AU Review, in a four-and-a-half star review, called the album "fantastic and contemplative" with a "renewed sense of adventure, joyousness, reflection and awareness", particularly praising the album's messages.[15] Noel Mengel of Loud Mouth praised the album as some of the band's best work, writing "the more you play Weirder and Weirder the more it sounds like a greatest hits set".[17]

Ellie Robinson from NME said "despite being made in notably dark times, Weirder & Weirder is distinctly upbeat, pillared by lavish soundscapes lacquered in fuzz and reverb, and carried along by shimmery, sun-kissed melodies that beckon copious replays."[18]

Penultimate single "Stars in My Eyes" has been favoured by various publications to win Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2022, ultimately appearing in number eight in the countdown.[19][20] The album also appeared at number two in Triple J's poll for the top ten albums of 2022, marking the band's seventh appearance on the list, with every prior studio album placing in past polls.[21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Samuel Cromack, except for "Beautiful Blueberries" written by Dean Hanson.

Weirder & Weirder track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Manny"3:32
2."Pleb Rock"4:04
3."Stars in My Eyes"3:47
4."Right Now"3:26
5."Caramel"3:50
6."A Field to Break Your Back In"3:24
7."Weirder & Weirder"4:04
8."Sunscreen"4:07
9."Writing Hand"3:40
10."Beautiful Blueberries"3:07
11."The Present Moment"5:24
12."Three Little Words"3:32
Total length:46:02

Personnel

Musicians

  • Sam Cromack – lead vocals, electric guitar (all tracks); writing (tracks 1–9, 11–12), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 5–7, 9, 12), percussion (tracks 1, 5–6, 8), organ (track 4)
  • Jennifer Boyce – vocals (tracks 1–9, 11–12), bass guitar (tracks 1–3, 5–9, 11–12), Roland SH-101 (tracks 4–5)
  • Daniel Hanson – drums (tracks 1–9, 11–12), tambourine (tracks 2–4, 6, 12), vocals (tracks 4, 6)
  • Dean Hanson – electric guitar (tracks 1–9, 11–12), acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 10), Hofner bass guitar (track 3), writing (track 10), vocals (tracks 2–6, 8, 11–12)
  • Paul Furness – Roland SH-101 (tracks 1–2, 6, 11–12), synthesiser (tracks 3–5, 7–8, 11), piano (track 2–5, 8–9, 12), Wurlitzer (tracks 6, 11), vocals (tracks 4, 6, 11–12), trombone (track 2), harpsichord (track 2), mellotron (tracks 4–5, 9, 12), organ (track 8)
  • Sam Furness – trumpet (track 3)
  • Emma Kelly – strings, arrangements (tracks 2, 5, 9–10)
  • Violet Hanson – counting (track 3)
  • Enid Cromack – counting (track 3)
  • Joel Walker – claps (track 4)

Technical

  • Sam Cromack – recording
  • Paul McKercher – mixing
  • William Bowden – mastering
  • Polly Bass Boost – artwork

Charts

Chart performance for Weirder & Weirder
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 2

References

  1. ^ "2023 Winners". QMusic. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Nominees Announced for the Australian Independent Music Awards 2023". Music Feeds. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Hottest 100 2022". Triple J. 28 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  4. ^ Kelly, Vivienne (20 October 2021). "ARIA Awards nominees revealed: Amy Shark & Genesis Owusu lead the charge". The Music Network. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Ball Park Music cover Radiohead 'Paranoid Android' for Like A Version". Triple J. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  6. ^ Triscari, Caleb (26 October 2022). "Ball Park Music release first single of the year, 'Sunscreen'". NME. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b Gallagher, Alex (15 February 2022). "Ball Park Music announce new album 'Weirder & Weirder', hint at tour dates". NME. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Ball Park Music Detail New Album 'Weirder & Weirder'". The Music. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  9. ^ Robinson, Ellie (12 May 2022). "Ball Park Music bring forward 'Weirder & Weirder' release date". NME. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  10. ^ "W&W: 03.06.2022 The mind is a casserole. Every year they add one more thing..." Instagram. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  11. ^ Robinson, Ellie (24 February 2022). "Ball Park Music get reflective on dreamy new single 'Stars In My Eyes'". NME. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  12. ^ Newstead, Al (6 May 2022). "Ball Park Music get their swagger on for new single 'Manny'". Triple J. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  13. ^ "Ball Park Music - Weirder & Weirder". Triple J. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  14. ^ Robinson, Ellie (2 March 2022). "Ball Park Music announce 'Weirder & Weirder' Australian tour". NME. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  15. ^ a b Marshall, Dylan (27 May 2022). "Album of the Week: Ball Park Music - Weirder & Weirder (2022 LP)". The AU Review. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  16. ^ McMillen, Andrew (10 June 2022). "Album review: Seventh heaven for Ball Park Music, one of Australia's best bands". The Australian.
  17. ^ Mengel, Noel (3 July 2022). "Weirder and Weirder. Ball Park Music". Loud Mouth. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  18. ^ "What's new this month? Here are 9 Australian release picks for June 2022". NME. June 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  19. ^ Varvaris, Mary (10 January 2023). "There's Two Songs Neck-And-Neck For The Hottest 100 Top Spot". The Music. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  20. ^ Callan, Alex (13 January 2023). "20 songs predicted to take out triple j's annual Hottest 100 countdown for 2022". Forte Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  21. ^ Newstead, Al (11 December 2022). "Spacey Jane tops the 2022 triple j Album Poll". Triple J. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Ball Park Music – Weirder & Weirder". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
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