on 23-06-2009 20:55

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The first review we're aware of for the Home Brew CD has rolled in. Our favourite choice passage: "Home Brew is like relaxing on the veranda on a Sunday afternoon with a bunch of mates, a bottle in hand, spinning yarns about life, love, sex, footy and kids. Of course, like all good brew-infused gatherings, it ends up half-naked with its tongue firmly in its cheek."

Read the entire review after the jump.

“I’ll give you ball!” 
Five men, nine testicles: the recipe for an awesome brew.

by Airlie Bee

As far as music goes, it’s fair to say that a cappella could be regarded as a little passé. Last popular in the early 1990s, most people think of cheesy barber shop quartets when they hear ‘a cappella’ these days. In recent years, the style hasn’t had much success outside of choirs and the occasional talent show act.  In the 1990s, international a cappella acts like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Zap Mama and Bobby McFerrin were huge and classes in a cappella singing became so popular that casual singing groups cropped up all over the suburbs. Even Billy Joel jumped on the bandwagon in For the Longest Time. But it all seemingly fell by the wayside, many citing the financial challenges that innately plague the style, namely the often audience-repellent stigma associated with church hall origins.

Bruce Elder, of the Sydney Morning Herald, interviewed Melbourne group Coco’s Lunch in late 2005, and things looked very similar back then. A cappella had seen its heyday and had since been relegated to novelty status. After enjoying success in the early to mid 90s, Coco’s Lunch found they had to either focus on side projects, or diversify their target audience to survive, so they put together two children’s albums and found success anew in a genre aimed at the progeny of their original listeners. Human Nature, too, underwent an audience shift, and now it is most likely the mothers of their original audience who’ll throw not-so scanty underwear on to the stage at gigs.

So what makes contemporary a cappella groups think that they’ll make it, when so many swiftly rose then tumbled just as promptly? Listening to Melbourne five-piece outfit Suade, the church hall origins never spring to mind, even though one of their recent gigs was in a converted chapel, at Chapel Off Chapel in Prahran. Their golden voices are divine, yes, but the audience is quickly grounded by their earthy wit and lewd humour, and just as quickly as they raise a hearty laugh, they entice the audience back into a reverie where all that remains is the music of their voices.

Suade’s success is rooted in the real, down-to-earth nature of the boys, and their very pragmatic approach to their craft. Perhaps also contributing to their success is the idea that they consider themselves an R&B/Soul act, rather than pigeon-holing their sound as an a cappella group, per se. With an unofficial charter that sets out “to bring a cappella into the pubs of Australia”, Suade are just a bunch of regular blokes who happen to sing like angels. It’s that healthy dose of reality that makes Suade possibly the finest a cappella quintet in Australia.

Starting out with covers and barber shop sounds, Suade quickly grew a reputation for an entertaining night out. Their first album, All Singing, No Dancing, released in 2006, caught glowing praise from Melbourne’s music icons like Mark Holden and Kate Ceberano.  Around Christmas 2007, the band recorded their first original EP called Cuddles for Christmas, which featured three covered tracks and the original Giving you a Cuddle for Christmas. The song was such a great success that it made it to Christmas-time radio playlists Australia-wide. As an even greater compliment to the boys, international a cappella acts have added the track to their Christmas song lists.

As the Cuddles For Christmas EP suggests, Suade might be regular blokes, but they’re not the type to let an opportunity pass by. They have made full and effective use of their little corner of the internet, http://www.suade.net/ and decked their website out with news, upcoming gigs, a members’ area, merchandise and in-depth biographies of each member. The very unpretentious attitude of the band might very well stem from the reality check that one member received a few years back. More insight can be found in the bio section on the website, but let’s just say that their ‘five men, nine testicles’ tag line rings true.

Suade wisely embrace all internet marketing opportunities, including the iTunes music store, where you can pick up a copy of any of their tracks for your iPod. You can also buy Suade’s songs straight from the suade.net website.  Merchandise is also available for purchase online, featuring bumper stickers and the amusing Noggin line of badges, and they shortly anticipate selling sheet music of their tunes from the website as well. So far removed from the barber shop vintage out of which their style evolved, the Suade boys are very clearly techno-savvy gents who know about making music their business. If a quirky take on a very beautiful choral style is up your alley, take a look at their site and subscribe to their mailing list: you’ll be glad you did.

Following on from the success of Giving You a Cuddle for Christmas, Suade spent 2008 writing and recording tracks for their new album. Recently released at the HiFi Bar in Melbourne, Home Brew features fourteen songs, eleven of which are original tunes written by the group. The three covers, including The Way You Look Tonight and Slice of Heaven are well chosen and demonstrate the talents of each of the Suade lads, as well as complementing the mood and theme of the album.

Home Brew takes you on a journey; from the light and heady days of new romance in I’m not Him and Cheeky Girl, to the joy of parenthood with So Glad You’re Here, into the heart wrenching depths of love lost in You Walk Away, which is one of the most captivating songs on the album. Living Enough speaks of moving on…and they do, because that’s where seriousness ends. Things get kind of sexy after that point. Never Seen My Face Before is one you’ll need to judge for yourself, and One Week at a Time is possibly the worst song in the world thematically, but comically, it’s brilliance. And that quick transition from reverie to reality that makes Suade so accessible permeates the album: they retain their Aussie accents and sardonic humour throughout.

Home Brew is like relaxing on the veranda on a Sunday afternoon with a bunch of mates, a bottle in hand, spinning yarns about life, love, sex, footy and kids. Of course, like all good brew-infused gatherings, it ends up half-naked with its tongue firmly in its cheek. If you’ve forgotten to appreciate a cappella, like most people have these days, do yourself a favour and crack open a bottle of Home Brew. You won’t regret it.