Interview for vibewire.net

You’d expect to be hard pressed to find someone who would take so much interest in maritime history that they’d research deeply enough to find out what ancient whalers screamed every time they harpooned a whale. Harder pressed, still, to find anyone who would name a record after that cry, and subsequently base the entire album around this obscure idea.

You’re forgetting, though, that Josh Pyke isn’t just anyone.

The Sydney singer-songwriter has spent the past 18 months riding on a wave of success thanks to his critically acclaimed 2007 debut album Memories and Dust. Playing sold out shows around the country and finding himself on the bill for international festival giants such as Glastonbury, he’s also sold in excess of 50 000 records and been named Best Adult Contemporary Album in the 2007 ARIAs.

This weekend marks the release of Pyke’s much awaited followup album, Chimney’s Afire – and despite the huge commercial success of his last record, he is still waiting with bated breath to hear how fans and critics alike respond.

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Josh Pyke – Chimney’s Afire – Released through Ivy League Records, October 4 2008

With spring having arrived and summer just around the corner, it’s lucky that Josh Pyke’s Chimney’s Afire is hitting shelves now. Laced with rollicking guitars and his signature blokey harmonies, the Sydney boy’s second offering could well be the soundtrack to warm days driving with the windows down.

The record focuses on Pyke’s love for the ocean and maritime history – the title itself is the cry ancient whalers used to signify the harpooning of a whale. He’s not the first to touch on the nautical theme, but in typical Josh Pyke fashion, it’s still endearing to hear him think aloud about lighthouses, whales and summers long past.

Gentle but confident in its scope, first single ‘The Lighthouse Song’ shows off Pyke’s sensitive side. A placid sea of strings and soothing guitar swirls under Pyke’s quiet musing about relocating to a lighthouse with his loved one – so it’s surprising, to say the least, to hear the word ‘fuck’ uttered, so nonchalantly, in the chorus. It’s cheek like this that has seen Pyke rise to become one of Australia’s most loved contemporary players.

The album has timid moments, raucous moments, reflective moments. It’s much more downbeat than its predecessor, with a stronger focus on acoustic music, but Pyke does explore previously unchartered territory. ‘Our House Breathing’ borrows from the Sufjan Stevens school of instrumentation, tampering with different timbres of guitar and resulting in a folky kind of lullaby. ‘The Summer’ is not a typical summer song, focusing rather on the darker side of the season; ‘Make You Happy’ is just a damn good pop song, so uplifting you can hear the grin on his face.

There’s certainly a case of second album syndrome here, however – Chimney’s Afire lacks the raw honesty, the surprise of hearing a new voice for the first time, that defined Memories and Dust. While Pyke has undoubtedly built on his songwriting skills, this record lacks the natural poetry that the former was brimming with and feels, at times, laboured and trite.

Chimney’s Afire is a decent record in its own right, though, standing as testament to the talents of the boy next door. Though it’s a step down from the last record, it has some spectacular moments – and when you couple that with its beachy theme, it’s an ideal companion to days out in the sun.

Whilst other kids his age were playing in the park and trading baseball cards, he was stirring up a legacy. He self-released his first full-length album at age 12 on what has evolved today into Saddle Creek Records, one of indie rock’s most respected labels. He had made three more records and taken part in four semi-successful bands, all before his 16th birthday.

It’s clear that Conor Oberst was no ordinary child, and now, over a decade down the track, he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

After riding on the wave of his critically acclaimed outfit Bright Eyes for the past few years (and picking up a horde of finally-someone-who-understands-me angsty teenage fans), he released an album under his own name again this year with new bandmates The Mystic Valley Band, and brought his tight collection of new songs to Australia this October – his first visit since 2005’s Bright Eyes tour.

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