About
Kim Beales is a voice that is familiar, but at the same time remarkably strange; he makes music that feels like you are wearing your favourite pair of trackie pants amongst tails and top hats, like finding a Vegemite sandwich in the deep dark back streets of Chennai, like a Whisper in the middle of the night…
Beales released his first piece of the recording pie in 2002. The self released A Day In The Dream caught the attention of the local music world, one such was Neala from Beat Magazine, who suspected that Beales may one day have ”a cult following all of his own in the future” . The release of this EP coincided with the formation of Melbourne indie collective, Tien An Min along with acts like Broken Flight and Tamas Wells.
After a 3 year hiatus of gigging in some of Melbourne’s favourite band rooms and travelling the globe, Beales thought enough was enough, and recorded his first full length album, The Whispers. If an artist can be gentle and yet upfront at the same time, Beales is that very thing. Alongside songs of everyday life, Beales engages intelligently with Australian refugee issues and also interacts with the poetry of a prisoner in Nazi Germany. One thing Beales could never be accused of is being shallow! His passionate and intimate words are set across the backdrop of a variety of melodic soundscapes.
Beales can play music and play it well. The Whispers deliciously tips its hat to a variety of musicians, including the soothing sounds of Nick Drake, Damien Rice and Glenn Richards, and the energy of artists such as Jeff Buckley, The Police and Ani DiFranco. Throw in Beales’ own eclectic mix of musical delights (a bit of jazz here, a bit of soul here), and out pops The Whispers.
Ironically enough, “ The Whispers” is the first single to be cut off the album. It is a soulful and electric 4 minutes and 24 seconds, voicing those whispers we all hear time and time again. The name suggests something quiet, which is matched by the almost ethereally picked introduction, but Beales then slaps you over the face with some big sounds with the help of band mates Charlie Brondolino (bass) and Bruce McIntyre (drums). Accompanying the single is the gentle, melodic B-Side For You , and a live to air recording of the track Pendulum .
”The Whispers” was relesed natiowide through Upstairs Mate Records Saturday 27th May, with launches at the Grace Emily in Adelaide and at the Rob Roy in Melbourne.
In a world of sound and noise, be sure to hear the whispers. Get on board the following.
