Bad Debts “Under Kalimna Skies”

Scene-soaked country tinged rockin’ from new band of Aussie veterans.

Goodness knows we adore Australian music here at AUK. Our penchant for antipodean artists is there for all to see and worn like a badge of the very highest honour. So we could never be accused of being snippy or dismissive of music because of its origin down under. Bad Debts are another new roots-oriented Ozzie band, and here they offer up their debut LP “Under Kalimna Skies” for us to contemplate.

Bad Debts hail from Castlemaine, Victoria, about 2 hours from the cultural hotbed of Melbourne. Apparently, this medium-sized regional semi-rural outpost has a rep’ as an ‘artsy town’ and a renowned local music scene from which Bad Debts have emerged, fully fledged and raring to go. Local music scenes are unquestionably a good thing, either remaining defiantly ‘local’ or, as they very occasionally do, attracting attention from further afield and growing to much greater prominence. They offer up loyal audiences that enable artists to develop at their own pace, give artists the chance to collaborate with each other until, perhaps, they find something that is a bit more special and just generally provide a supportive and nurturing creative community.

Sometimes, maybe a scene can get a little bit cosy, people (audiences, artists and critics) put up with stuff that really isn’t much cop just because it’s local (same goes for beer, cheese, pork pies and trousers up here as well). Also, it can be difficult to escape from what has been dubbed “scene etiquette”, the received wisdom of what passes for ‘good’ or worthwhile around here. A glimpse at the ‘Castlemaine Music – Gigs, Bands, Artists, Tutoring, Buy and Sell’ Facebook page does nothing to discourage the perception that it may be a vibrant though not particularly progressive scene. There seems to be a lot of music of a roots rocking or (garage) punk variety. In that sense, Bad Debts fit in just fine, especially with the three main songwriters, Pete Daly, Al Carr, and Mitch Dillon, all having had band and solo projects of a similar ilk, each with a modicum of success in the Aussie music arena*.

Their coming together in the Bad Debts project is one of those happy(ish) accidents that characterise local scenes. Four guys (including local drummer Al Stanley) coalescing as a unit by happenstance and realising that something more than the sum of its parts was happening. As they would have it, “The end result is our unique Bad Debts sound, comprised of three individual songwriters’ styles.” They may well have come together in Castlemaine, and the LP’s title references the Aboriginal word for ‘beautiful’, and the Kalimna Park Victorian bushland area, but there is little sense of place attached to the record. There is a widescreen, open road feel to some of the work here, but this feels closer to the tropes of Southern US red-dirt rock than anything. Indeed, the whole record comes across as a touch generic, and we don’t get any sense of or feeling for the ‘Victorianness’ of the band, who appear more as victims of the digital homogenisation of music than conformists to any kind of local “scene etiquette”.

In that sense, “Under Kalimna Skies” plays almost like a primer for post-Paisley pre-noughties roots rock(in’). It opens with ‘20 Miles’, a promising beginning with strains of Alabama 3 narcotic cowboy blues and ends with a predictable Kentucky Headhunters / Allmans road shuffle. Next up is ‘Drivin’ (complete with classic missin’ g trope), which, along with ‘Burning in the Dark’, is a dead ringer for AM era Wilco revelling in the classic straightforward rocking glory of Casino Queen or Box Full of Letters (not cool to admit it, but your correspondent’s favourite Wilco LP). The record continues through ‘Walking Through the Haze’, with its college rock Big Dipper / Drivin’ n Cryin’ vibe, the Jolene or Hazeldine with added organ fills of ‘Gone Gone Gone’ to the more down beat Wagon / Uncle Tupelo feel of ‘When are you Coming Home’ and the sparsely reflective Son Volt like ‘Hold Still Your Mind’.

They’re better at rocking out than tender reflections, but in truth, there are not really any genuinely memorable songs here. The record is a diverting listen but not really affecting beyond that, it’s gone from memory as soon as it’s finished – if you don’t have it on repeat and you probably won’t. There are a lot of comparisons in this review, which shouldn’t be seen as an intrinsically bad thing. Bad Debts’ intentions clearly don’t extend much beyond creating some good time roots rocking in the same ballpark as the people they enjoy listening to. And in doing this, they have clearly succeeded. “Under Kalimna Skies” is not going to change music in any way, but it’ll probably sound great played live on a Saturday night in the Bridge Hotel or the Shedshaker Brewing Company.

*Apologies to any Castlemaine natives for what may be a less-than fully informed take on their music scene. If we’ve got it wrong or are doing your vibe a disservice, please take the time to let us know.