Kookaburra (album)

Kookaburra
Studio album by the Whitlams Black Stump
Released	8 March 2024
Recorded	May 2021 and August 2023
Studio	Sony (East Sydney) Rancom St (Botany) The Music Cellar (Central Coast) Oceanic (Brookvale) Wilder (Gowrie Park)
Length	48:29
Label	EGR
Producer	Matt Fell Rod McCormack
The Whitlams Black Stump chronology
Sancho (2022) Kookaburra (2024)
Singles from Sancho
"50 Again" Released: 13 August 2021 "The Day John Sattler Broke His Jaw" Released: 22 April 2022 "Blow Up the Pokies (Black Stump)" Released: 28 October 2022 "No Aphrodisiac (Black Stump)" Released: 28 July 2023 "Man About a Dog" Released: 15 December 2023 "You Sound Like Louis Burdett" Released: 25 January 2024

Kookaburra is the eighth studio album by Australian band the Whitlams, and first under the name the Whitlams Black Stump. It was released on 8 March 2024.[1] The album was supported by the 25-date Kookaburra tour, commencing in March 2024.[1] In May 2024, the tour was extended by an extra 20 days.[2]

About making a country album, lead singer Tim Freedman said "I am a parochial lyric writer, and country music has a strong sense of time and place, so clothing my stories in a country music coat seemed like a natural progression to me, I had to scratch that itch and investigate."[3]

Reception

In an album review on Sunburnt Country, Sophie Hamley acknowledged the risk the group took by re-recording their songs into a different style. Hamley said "What is also profoundly clear – in a way that it wasn’t on the earlier recordings – is that Freedman is a really lovely singer." Hamley closed the review saying, "This is an album made by experts and the listener is rewarded accordingly. Freedman's high-stakes gamble has paid off, and old fans will no doubt mingle with new as he takes these songs to people all over the land."[4]

Track listing

1. "Man About a Dog" (Tim Freedman) – 4:07
2. "No Aphrodisiac" (Freedman, Glen Dormand, Matt Ford) – 2:59
3. "Fallen Leaves" (Perry Keyes, Matt Fell, Freedman) – 3:44
4. "In the Last Life" (Freedman, Wayne Connolly) – 4:39
5. "The Day John Sattler Broke His Jaw" (Keyes) – 4:47
6. "You Sound Like Louis Burdett" (Freedman, Mark Wells) – 4:14
7. "Your Boyfriend's Back in Town" (Bernie Hayes) – 3:23
8. "Nobody Wants to Be You" (Dan Reeder) – 2:06
9. "There's No One" (Freedman) – 3:35
10. "Blow Up the Pokies" (Freedman, Greta Gertler Gold) – 3:43
11. "50 Again" (Freedman, Daniel Denholm, John Housden) – 3:21
12. "Witness Protection Scheme" (Freedman, Chris Abrahams) – 2:57
13. "Birds" (Neil Young) – 4:54

Personnel

The Whitlams Black Stump

• Tim Freedman – vocals, piano
• Ollie Thorpe – pedal steel guitars, electric guitars, backing vocals
• Rod McCormack – banjo, acoustic guitars, backing vocals, additional engineering (all tracks); production (track 1)
• Matt Fell – bass, percussion, ukulele, additional acoustic guitars, additional electric guitars, additional keyboards, backing vocals, production, mixing
• Terepai Richmond – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Stu Hunter – Hammond organ, piano (tracks 3, 5–13)
• Josh Schuberth – drums, percussion (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7–11, 13)
• George Washingmachine – violin (tracks 1, 2)
• Melanie Jackson – backing vocals (tracks 3, 8–10, 12, 13)
• Daniel Denholm – string arrangement, conductor (track 3)
• Michele O'Young – string leader (track 3)

Technical

• William Bowden – mastering
• Dan Frizza – engineering
• Adrian Breakspear – engineering (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7–11, 13)
• Ted Howard – additional engineering

Visuals

• David Frazer – lino print
• Cate Pepper – album art, design
• Cherrie Hughes – inside cover photo

Charts

Chart performance for Kookaburra

Chart (2024)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[5]	54

References

1. "The Whitlams Black Stump Announce Massive Kookaburra Launch Tour". The Music. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
2. "The Whitlams Black Stump Extend 2024 National Tour". Music Feeds. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
3. "The Whitlams Black Stump Kookaburra". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
4. "Album review: KOOKABURRA by The Whitlams, Black Stump Band". Sunburnt Country. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
5. "Making a Grande entrance". Australian Recording Industry Association. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.