Clare Bowditch And The Feeding Set

' Oh the Tele-tele vision, sugar on the cake, and the petrol in the car, lots of make up…..” What are you on about Clare Bowditch? “Something happened,” says Bowditch, “And I needed to work it out. I’m a person who lives and speaks from the heart and I started to wonder if there was a place in this world for me, someone who operates on the commercial fringe. We’re all under such pressure to live up to a perfect one-size-fits-all ideal.” This feeling of discontent sent Bowditch off on a Random Creative Adventure with No Fixed Outcome. The happy ending was Modern Day Addiction, an invigorating and luminous album that traverses a landscape of consumerism, expectation, death, addiction, pressure, image, disappointment, love, luck and hope with rich sounds, lush melodies and sparkling vocals. Modern Day Addiction was written by Clare primarily on her collection of family-inherited Casiotone keyboards which created the boppy energy. “I wrote it mainly on Casio, using its rudimentary beats, which (partner) drummer Marty then re-interpreted on his kit. I used the beats firstly because they made me happy, but also through necessity: somebody had to be with the kids.” Example 3,298 of necessity being the mother of invention! From there the duo decided they should forget folk, and concentrate on what they do best, drums and vocals. Lots of drums - Lots of vocals. The result is something that can’t be placed in any time or genre. It has so many influences, facets and layers that no easy comparison can be made. Recording started in the back shed of the family home in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, but the work detoured through a 12th century cathedral in Ireland, an early 20th Century Picture Palace, an airport, the Hansa Studio in Berlin where David Bowie, Lou Reed and U2 recorded some of their most influential work, the death of her father and the 100th birthday celebration of her Dutch grandmother Oma Annie. Remarkably, this is the first time Bowditch and key-collaborator Marty Brown have invited other producers in to the equation, joining forces with Mocky (Feist), Mick Harvey (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and Cornel Wilcek (Qua). The album was superbly mixed by Victor Van Vugt in New York. And yes, they are name dropping. Names you probably don’t even know. Unless you’re in the know. And if you’re not, you should be. Just nod your head and look impressed. Bowditch’s sense of community is well noted, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the community who surrounds her on this album - AKA the New Slang. An eight-piece band that includes Feeding Set old boys Marty, Tim and Warren and the gorgeous Lady Garden; Sal, Rach and Belle on backing vocals. Together they pan for meaning in a world of advertising that manipulates by selling constant dissatisfaction when all we want to do is chill and party, chat and chew and nut out this crazy world over a drink. Sure, Bowditch is beautiful and talented, has sold tens of thousands of albums, thrilled us with her work for over a decade and not only won our heart but won an ARIA. And sure, she’s one of Australia’s most gifted and respected musicians, artists and singers, known as much for her “voice” as for her singing, as her recent much applauded appearance on ABC’s Q &A proved. But none of that’s the point. “I believe in the radical power of popular music,” says Bowditch, “Songs offering an alternative that’s catchy but has something to say. “ Modern Day Addiction is not a product but a handcrafted, heartcrafted masterpiece. It’s a response to the issues we all face, cosmetic surgery, eating disorders, influenza, status anxiety and pathological consumerism. Topics that could be thought of as worthy, earnest and dry, Bowditch manages to sex up, rock out and wrap up in warmth and a human heartbeat and a cheeky, very grown up, irreverence. Modern Day Addiction crackles with raw passion and wisdom with Bowditch both the scientist and the guinea pig. The message is yes; we are all flawed and broken. But we’re good enough, better than this and not alone. Experiencing the album, the listener feels immersed in clarity and embraced in Bowditch’s arms as she whispers truth and comfort. She helps us make our armour, and tells us we must wear ourselves. As the music soothes we are released with the knowledge that it’s not just us trying to get to a better place. Catherine Deveny