Melbourne indie-folk-rock revivalist Cahill Kelly‘s first offering of his debut album Classical and Cool Jazz, is the single ‘World upon a Shelf’, a track filled with swagger and sentimental musing. Using objects on his mantelpiece as a source of lyrical inspiration, ‘World upon a Shelf’ sees Kelly reflecting on the notion that all our encounters throughout life contain profound meaning beneath the surface.

“When writing ‘World upon a Shelf’, I was trying to see if I could write a song about even the most mundane of subjects while still evoking some kind of narrative and emotion,” says Kelly.

“At the time I had a number of sentimental trinkets from various countries on a mantelpiece above my desk. I ended up finding deeper meaning in the song, reflecting on the idea that everything we come across in life, be it places, people, objects, ideas, once you take a deeper look there’s always so much more to the story.”

This is reflected in the video, directed by revered local filmmaker and photographer Gil Gilmour, which presents solitary objects as surrealist symbols against an otherwise blank backdrop, but ultimately hints at a deeper, more profound meaning to what we are seeing.

“Cahill Kelly’s ‘World Upon a Shelf’ is one hell of a surrealist trip. Distorted snakes, upside-down spinning salt rock lamps, and falling pianos are just some of the things that feature in this wild music video.” – Beat Magazine

Originally from far North Queensland, a young Kelly grew up on a diet of Crowded House and Tom Petty. Later, he channelled his heroes in his first musical projects, The Broken Needles and Willow Darling. With the latter seeing him assume the role of a natural frontman, Kelly developed a knack for writing songs about everyday life with sparkling detail and depth, delivered with casual grace.

Rich, evocative, haunting, beautifully harsh, ‘Thirty Four‘ is a bruising affair, a tender, raw, at times simmering indie rock journey drenched in wonderfully emotive piano. It’s a song that evokes the comparisons Nick Batterham has had to Elliott Smith and Nick Drake; you can add Ken Stringfellow to the list as well.

Formerly involved with bands such as Blindside, The Earthmen and Cordrazine, Nick has teamed with photographer, videographer Thuy Vy to create a music video for ‘Thirty Four’ themed around Polaroid photos.

“I love Polaroid film and have wanted to make a clip with it for a very long time,” Nick says. “I used to scan my Polaroids as they developed, with the intention of animating them. This was labour intensive and time consuming. Thuy suggested filming them time-lapse and setting them in locations that helped to tell the story.”

“The video is an extension of a long fascination with photographing my friends,” Nick adds. “I like that a photograph captures one perspective of a moment in time, yet in Polaroid form, remains ephemeral. They take time to appear then can fade over time. A romantic relationship is a collection of shared moments and experiences, which can be well communicated by photographs. They also capture the fractures within a relationship before either person can see it for themselves. My dear friends Nick and Tiara were amazing to work with. So honest and generous, as well as being ridiculously good looking! I can’t thank them enough for their presence and patience.”

‘Thirty Four’ features on Nick’s new solo album ‘Lovebirds’ that he will launch at Melbourne Recital Centre on June 25th. Go here for more information on the album launch.

“Nick is a wonderful musician, composer, sound designer and lyricist,” Thuy Vy says. “The more I listened to his music and read his lyrics I found that our works share a similar sensibility. We’re both concerned with ideas of love, melancholy, preservation of memory, vulnerability and fragility of feelings. This video is a distillation of our shared interest in photography as a personal way to hold onto time. And our love of Polaroids as a medium, in particular a Polaroid as an only copy of a moment and the preciousness that it holds.”

Pre-order Nick Batterham’s beautiful new album Lovebirds on limited edition red vinyl, black vinyl, CD or digital here.

Accomplished Melbourne composer and songwriter Nick Batterham is excited to reveal the second taste of his forthcoming solo album Lovebirds with the stunning new track ‘Turbulence’. The release follows from Nick’s recently lifted single ‘No Perfect Man’, switching out its predecessor’s hauntingly subdued sounds for a cacophony of rock elements, overlaid with the same melancholic sentiments Nick has come to be known for. The single comes with the announcement that Nick’s new album Lovebirds is ready to be released via Cheersquad Records & Tapes on Friday 21 May with album pre-orders now available via the label’s Bandcamp.

As an album opener, ‘Turbulence’ kicks off Lovebirds with a goodbye, typifying the album’s extravagance as a simple piano ballad breaks loose into a soaring cinematic epic. Scheduled to be released Thursday 11 March, ‘Turbulence’ highlights the sheer brilliance of Nick Batterham’s intricate songwriting. A continuous build of atmospheric strings, horns and guitars propel the song from seemingly unassuming love song to a heart wrenching orchestral production of great heights.

“An attempt to be gracious in defeat, a farewell blessing to a runaway lover. “May everywhere you fly from here be safe and smooth, high up above my turbulence…” The song has gained new meaning since we can’t fly anywhere anymore” – Nick Batterham

Director James Teh:
“The initial idea for this music video came from a Tina Fey interview I saw one day on a BBC streaming channel. She told a story of how her kids had overheard her and her husband reminiscing about how much they missed air travel since the lockdowns had begun. Much to their surprise their children treated them by cooking dinner and seating and serving them as if they were on an airplane.

Nick Batterham’s song ‘Turbulence’ whilst warm and fuzzy on the surface carries a dark undertone. I wanted to reflect this in Nick’s music video. Parents on the brink of disaster possibly being brought back together by their children’s creativity and love.

“Myself and a director buddy Vittorio Badini Confalonieri shot this film on a sunny Saturday in Bangkok. The cast are mostly non-actors and real family members which led to some nice moments. I am very happy with the results and was very grateful to put some moving pictures together to such a beautiful song.”

A stalwart of the Melbourne music scene for the past 25 years, Nick Batterham is a prolific artist who has lent his immense musicality to beloved local acts The Earthmen, Blindside, Cordrazine and most recently, The Bell Streets, as well as regular compositional collaborations with renowned visual artist RONE. Nick’s upcoming sixth studio album, Lovebirds bristles with spiky observations and raw emotion, delivered with the world-weariness of Elliott Smith or Nick Drake, while the production nods to Phil Spector at his most opulent. Promising a lavish feast of orchestral pop that explores love’s dizzying highs and soul crushing lows, Lovebirds is now available for pre-order with instant access to Nick’s first two singles ‘No Perfect Man’ and ‘Turbulence’.