Marine Theology by The Cambrian Explosion
Marine Theology is the third original album by Melbourne multi-instrumental entity The Cambrian Explosion.
The oceanic themed album encompasses sea ballads, invertebrate messiahs, Australian colonialism and a giant squid revenge shanty.
With Marine Theology the band augments traditional rock instrumentation with the Turkish oud and cümbüş, period synths, chord organ, woodwinds and field recordings from the Australian environment.
Their abstract approach lead to the commissioning of Australia’s only known original pianola roll since World War II.
Although containing elements of Middle Eastern music, jazz, vintage electronica and folk, at its core Marine Theology remains a vocal-driven album full of pop sensibilities and melodic hooks.
Tracklist
| 1. | Marine Theology | 1:02 |
| 2. | A Wave In The Ocean | 4:11 |
| 3. | Crustaceous Stigmata | 4:48 |
| 4. | The Antarctic Suite Part IV: Summertime In Gondwana | 3:52 |
| 5. | Lord, Why? | 3:21 |
| 6. | My Home Town... | 4:27 |
| 7. | ...I Could Never Hate That Town | 3:52 |
| 8. | Intertidal | 0:52 |
| 9. | Victoria | 5:33 |
| 10. | Night Parrots | 4:27 |
| 11. | In The New World | 3:51 |
| 12. | The Young Girl & The Giant Squid | 3:41 |
| 13. | Ever Since We Left The Water | 4:29 |
Credits
The Cambrian Explosion are:
Rohan Long - vocals, guitars, chord organ, keyboards, percussion, field recordings
Simon Long - bass, oud, cümbüş, keyboards, percussion
Jem Savage - drums, bass, guitars, percussion, keyboards, programming, editing, pianola, woodwinds
Many thanks to Ed Fairlie (trumpet, flugelhorn), Amy Tankard (vocals), Louisa Rankin (tuba), John Cheong-Holdaway (guitar), Mary Walters (who welcomed us into her home to play her pianola, Howard) and Museum Victoria for the use of The Federation Handbells.
Additional thanks to Jake Boyle (photography) and Tim Ware (artwork).
License
All rights reserved.Tags
The Cambrian Explosion consists of multi-instrumentalists John Cheong-Holdaway, Rohan Long, Simon Long and Jem Savage. Starting as a live ensemble in the early 2000s, the band now focuses on studio recording projects of an increasingly ambitious and conceptual nature.