Cruel Guards
Encyclopedia
Cruel Guards is the third studio album by Australia
n indie rock
band The Panics
, released on 13 October 2007 on Dew Process
.
. The band relocated from their hometown of Perth
to Melbourne and set up a studio in a house in Collingwood
. The album was written and demoed in Melbourne before the band went to BJB Studios in Sydney where they started working on the record with Scott Horsecroft. Cruel Guards was produced by The Panics and Horsecroft with additional recordings in New York
and Melbourne. The album was mixed by Victor Van Vugt
(Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
, Beth Orton
) in New York.
The album was Triple J
's feature album for the week of 8 October 2007 (Triple J review) and went on to win the 2007 J Award
.
Cruel Guards debuted at #18 on the ARIA
Album Charts and reached #4 on the Australian Album Charts. The album achieving gold
status (sales of 35,000) within six months of its release. The album was nominated for three ARIA Awards - 'Best Adult Contemporary Album'; 'Best Producer' (The Panics & Scott Horsecroft) and 'Best Engineer Record' (Scott Horsecroft), with "Don't Fight It" nominated for 'Best Breakthrough Artist - Single'.
"Don't Fight It" is the first song to be lifted from the album and has received significant airplay on Triple J
and community radio stations across Australia. The song was voted in to the number ten position in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2007
and reached #43 on the ARIA singles chart. The track has since received airplay on major commercial stations, such as Triple M
and Nova
. It was also featured on an episode of the Australian television drama series Underbelly
and on the Underbelly soundtrack album
.
"Don't Fight It" has also been nominated for 'Best Breakthrough Artist Single' at the 2008 ARIA Awards.
of covers called Join The Dots.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band The Panics
The Panics
The Panics are an ARIA Award–winning indie rock band originally from Perth, Western Australia, and currently based in Melbourne, Victoria.-History:...
, released on 13 October 2007 on Dew Process
Dew Process
Dew Process is an Australian independent record label based in Brisbane, Queensland founded by Paul Piticco. The label essentially develops talent from Australia as well as provide promotional, marketing and distribution services for foreign artists looking for a home for their music in Australia...
.
Background
The Panics commenced work on the album in 2006, after finishing touring & promoting the band's last album, Sleeps Like a CurseSleeps Like a Curse
Sleeps Like a Curse is the second full length album by The Panics, released on 8 August 2005 by littleBIGMAN Records. The album was produced by Tim Whitten...
. The band relocated from their hometown of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
to Melbourne and set up a studio in a house in Collingwood
Collingwood, Victoria
Collingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
. The album was written and demoed in Melbourne before the band went to BJB Studios in Sydney where they started working on the record with Scott Horsecroft. Cruel Guards was produced by The Panics and Horsecroft with additional recordings in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Melbourne. The album was mixed by Victor Van Vugt
Victor Van Vugt
Victor Van Vugt is an award-winning music producer, mixer and engineer. An Australian based in New York, he has had a long association with the careers of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Beth Orton. He has also worked with the likes of P.J...
(Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1983. The band is fronted by Nick Cave and has featured international personnel throughout their career.-Formation and early releases :...
, Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s. However, these were not Orton's first...
) in New York.
The album was Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's feature album for the week of 8 October 2007 (Triple J review) and went on to win the 2007 J Award
J Award
The J Award is an award given by influential Australian youth radio station Triple J to Australian Album of the Year. It is judged by a panel of members of the music industry, led by Richard Kingsmill...
.
"It was amazing to win that award. We celebrated for days with the Triple J staff and then just fell over." - Drew Wootton
Cruel Guards debuted at #18 on the ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
Album Charts and reached #4 on the Australian Album Charts. The album achieving gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
status (sales of 35,000) within six months of its release. The album was nominated for three ARIA Awards - 'Best Adult Contemporary Album'; 'Best Producer' (The Panics & Scott Horsecroft) and 'Best Engineer Record' (Scott Horsecroft), with "Don't Fight It" nominated for 'Best Breakthrough Artist - Single'.
"Don't Fight It" is the first song to be lifted from the album and has received significant airplay on Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
and community radio stations across Australia. The song was voted in to the number ten position in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2007
Triple J Hottest 100, 2007
The 2007 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on Australia Day, 26 January 2008. It was the fifteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J....
and reached #43 on the ARIA singles chart. The track has since received airplay on major commercial stations, such as Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
and Nova
Nova (radio network)
Nova is a name given to a group of Australian radio stations. The group comprises five stations all owned by DMG Radio Australia, apart from the Perth station, which is a joint venture between DMG and the Australian Radio Network....
. It was also featured on an episode of the Australian television drama series Underbelly
Underbelly (TV series)
Underbelly is a 13-part Australian television mini-series that retells the real events of the 1995–2004 gangland war in Melbourne, and is the first series in the larger Underbelly Franchise. It depicts the key players in Melbourne's criminal underworld, including the Carlton Crew and their rival,...
and on the Underbelly soundtrack album
Underbelly (soundtrack)
The soundtrack from the controversial Australian TV series, Underbelly was released on 29 March 2008. It features some of the songs from various artists that played in episodes, and includes elements of the score by Burkhard Dallwitz.-CD Release:...
.
"Don't Fight It" has also been nominated for 'Best Breakthrough Artist Single' at the 2008 ARIA Awards.
Track listing
All tracks written by Jae Laffer, Paul Otway, Drew Wootton, Myles Wootton and Julian Grigor.- "Get Us Home" - 4:16
- "Ruins" - 3:42
- "Creaks" - 4:02
- "Don't Fight It" - 5:01
- "Feeling is Gone" - 3:23
- "Cruel Guards" - 5:15
- "Live Without" - 4:17
- "Something in the Garden" - 4:57
- "Confess" - 3:49
- "Sundowner" - 5:18
Bonus EP Join the Dots
Limited copies of the album included an EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
of covers called Join The Dots.
- "Lazyitis" (Mark Day, Paul Davis, Paul Ryder, Gary WhelanHappy MondaysHappy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
, Shaun RyderShaun RyderShaun William Ryder, aka X, is an English musician, occasional newspaper columnist, actor, author, singer-songwriter and television personality, best known as lead singer for Happy Mondays and Black Grape – and more recently as the runner-up of the 2010 version of the British TV Show I'm a...
, John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Sly StoneSly StoneSly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
, David EssexDavid EssexDavid Essex OBE is an English musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Since the 1970s, Essex has attained nineteen Top 40 singles in the UK , and sixteen Top 40 albums...
) - 3:56 - "One Too Many Mornings" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) - 2:28 - "Factory Girl" (Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
, Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
) - 2:31 - "Who By Fire" (Leonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
) - 3:04 - "Just Like A Woman" (Dylan) - 4:47
The Panics
- Jae Laffer - vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica
- Myles Wootton - drums, percussion, vocals, orchestral arrangements
- Jules Douglas - guitar, piano, vocals, hammond organ
- Drew Wootton - guitar
- Paul Otway - bass, vocals
Reviews
- "Opening with strings straight out of an Ennio Morricone score, Cruel Guards announces a change of pace for The Panics. The Five Piece have consistently delivered beautiful spare rock throughout their career, but with the lush pianos, strings and layered guitars of this their third full length album, they’ve beefed up their production without sounding overblown. "Don’t Fight It" is resplendent with hooky trumpets, while the harmonica laced title track see front man jae laffer affirm his place as a deft, poetic lyricist. Consistent throughout, Cruel Guards straddles the divide between pop and rock with arrangements that reflect the 12 months spent shaping the set. During closer "Sundowner", complete with swelling strings, Laffer lets us know he “spent six months looking for the rest of the rhyme”, a labour that has paid off in full. The Panics have an impressive back catalogue well worth investigating, but for their best, most cohesive work, look no further than this record." - Rolling Stone MagazineRolling Stone AustraliaRolling Stone Australia is an Australian-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published monthly, it is the Australian edition of the United States' Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone was initially released in Melbourne in May 1970 as a supplement in Revolution, an...
(Australia) (Daniel Findley) - "Opening with a theatrical drum roll, "Get us Home" , the first track from The Panics third album, channels the essence of a spaghetti western soundtrack so well you half expect to hear a whip crack, while the other tracks especially "Feeling is Gone" and "Live Without", take their cues closer to home, specifically The TriffidsThe TriffidsThe Triffids were a seminal Australian alternative rock and pop band formed in Perth, Western Australia, in May 1978 with charismatic, David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist. They achieved negligible success in Australia, but greater success in the U.K...
and The Go-BetweensThe Go-BetweensThe Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
. The later comparison is especially resonant because of front man Jae Laffer’s songwriting, which has evolved to deliver highly evocative vignettes of which messrs McComb, McLennan and Foster would be proud. Another song bearing Ennio Morricone flourishes, “Something in the Garden” is almost gothic, while The VerveThe VerveThe Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
like pop gospel of first single "Don’t Fight It" is the clearest display of the Perth bands fearlessness. The Panics have pulled back some of their trade mark glistening layers to reveal the strongest elements of each song, whether they be a string melody or Laffer’s lyrics. Brimming with confidence and backed by the formidable label in Dew ProcessDew ProcessDew Process is an Australian independent record label based in Brisbane, Queensland founded by Paul Piticco. The label essentially develops talent from Australia as well as provide promotional, marketing and distribution services for foreign artists looking for a home for their music in Australia...
, The Panics could be the home grown success story of 2007. They certainly deserve to be." - The West AustralianThe West AustralianThe West Australian is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by ASX-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times, a News Limited publication...
(Simon Collins) - "In essence, Cruel Guards should be the Panics’ second album. Although history asserts that the country-influenced Sleeps Like a CurseSleeps Like a CurseSleeps Like a Curse is the second full length album by The Panics, released on 8 August 2005 by littleBIGMAN Records. The album was produced by Tim Whitten...
LP of 2005 possesses this distinction, the MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
-based four piece have taken their old style and seemingly most of their label’s money, and created the string-laden masterpiece which typically signals a gradual descent into obscurity. The only difference between Cruel Guards and the myriad of similarly-intended second albums throughout the past is that it works. And that it’s not a second album, but that’s another story. The first half hour of Cruel Guards presents a cavalcade of classics, with standout tracks Get Us Home and Don’t Fight It either brilliant examples of pop at its most perfect, or shamelessly plagiarized from long-lost AM radio staples of the 90s. Either way, they form the spine of an exceptional album from an ever-improving outfit. There can be little question that Cruel Guards pushes the Panics further towards the surface of Australia’s top acts. Straight to the point, soaring and glorious, Cruel Guards is, at worst, the Panics’ best album yet, and, at best, one of the finest albums of the year." - Buzz Magazine - "It wouldn’t have been surprising to see Perth’s The Panics slip off the radar had they not come up with something fresh on their third album. Drinks all round then, since Cruel Guards is mightily pleasing to the ear while maintaining the basic understated guitar jangle and floating vocals of their two earlier albums and EPs. Two improvements are apparent. One is the production, by Scott Horsecroft, which concentrates on bringing out the poppier elements of the five piece band’s sounds. The other feature is a more commanding presence vocally and lyrically from frontman Jae Laffer. There are echoes of Dave McCombDavid McCombDavid Richard McComb was an Australian rock musician. He was the singer-songwriter of the Australian band, The Triffids.-Early years in Perth:...
and The ChurchThe Church (band)The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
in Laffer’s Australiana and nasal whine, but more importantly he’s more of a presence, a focal point, here than before. There are several fantastic sings. The opening "Get us Home", for example is a glorious merging of 60s pop strings and harmonies set against the Australian landscape, while the poppy mood is offset by the more melancholy title track and the closing Sundowner. Best of the lot, though, is "Don’t Fight It", a horn driven pop classic that will surely usher The Panics into the big time." - The AustralianThe AustralianThe Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
(Ian Shedden) - "Cruel Guards blends contagiously catchy, sun-soaked melodies and basic, chilled out pop rock; it is definitely one for the summer. The slide guitar and subtle hammond organ on tracks like Ruins sounds like it could be from any of The Shins’ back catalogue (no easy feat) and the riff on Creak is so addictive you’re sure to be humming it for hours. The strings, trumpet and organ are ever present and help to give the album a timeless sound that is sometimes reminiscent of The Beatles‘ Rubber Soul/Revolver era or The Vines‘ softer side. Don’t Fight It, the bands first single off the album is a very catchy and accomplished song (as evident by its recent airtime success with support from Radio 2 and XFM), though I feel that you also need to listen to tracks like Ruins or Creaks to give you a better idea of the band’s overall sound. The title track is a sophisticated and moving piano-led piece whilst Something In The Garden really brings out the country rock feel that is discretely present throughout the record and seems to have traces of some America or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tracks. Cruel Guards has already been well received in Australia picking up a string of awards including an ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) for Best Adult Contemporary Album. This is a great record and it’s only a matter of time before The Panics are making the headlines in the UK." - Music.Virgin.Com (Tom Sowerby)