''Tracing Faces'' is the debut studio album by Australian

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band

Great Gable Great Gable is a mountain in the Lake District, United Kingdom. It is named after its appearance as a pyramid from Wasdale, though it is dome-shaped from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are ...

, released on 7 August 2020 through ADA Worldwide and

Warner Music Australia Warner Music Australia Pty Limited (WMA) is the Australian division of the Warner Music Group. WMA also distributes in New Zealand. History In 1969, Warner Bros. Records branched out and WEA was born. The first country in which it was estab ...

Background

The album follows on less than a year after the release of their EP ''Lazy Bones Tapes'' (2019). In an interview with

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

, lead vocalist Alex Whiteman elaborated on the decision to record an album as opposed to an EP:

"It took a little while to figure things out, which I think has been great for us. If we wrote the album or were getting hype any time sooner, it would've been too soon for us. We really needed to get around and gig, get better at writing songs. It's been really cool getting support behind us."

Matt Corby Matthew John Corby (born 7 November 1990) is an Australian singer-songwriter. He achieved his commercial breakthrough with his fourth EP, '' Into the Flame'' (2011), which peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and by April 2012, was ce ...

contacted Alex Henriksson (the band's co- producer) after hearing demos for the album, which led to Corby producing the record.

Recording and composition

''Tracing Faces'' was co-produced by Australian musician

and Alex Heriksson. The album was written in a cabin in the

Karri forest Karri forest is a tall open forest type dominated by ''Eucalyptus diversicolor'' (karri), one of the tallest hardwoods in the world. Karri forest occurs only in the south-west corner of the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia, in ...

s and a chestnut farm in southwest Australia, and recorded at The Music Farm in

Byron Bay Byron Bay (Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headla ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Of the recording process, bassist Chris Bye noted that "being engulfed in nature definitely influenced the overall vibe of what we came out with." Drummer Callum Guy additionally stated: "It was sick working with Alex Henriksson and Matt Corby on the album, they are full legends. They helped us to write better tunes and really inspired us."

Themes and influences

The album discusses themes of

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

, heartbreak and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

. "Blur" has been described as containing Krautrock and

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...

influences.

Release

''Tracing Faces'' was announced on 14 May 2020, alongside the premiere of second single "Blur" on

's ''Good Nights'' with

Bridget Hustwaite Bridget Hustwaite (born 10 April 1991) is an Australian radio presenter, television presenter, journalist, author, and health activist. Her debut book, ''How to Endo'', which chronicles her experiences with endometriosis, was released on 2 Mar ...

. ''Tracing Faces'' was released on 7 August 2020 through ADA Worldwide and

, on CD, LP, digital download and streaming.

Promotion

Singles

''Tracing Faces'' was supported released by four singles:

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

"All My Friends", released on 21 February 2020, "Blur", released on 15 May 2020, "I Wonder", released on 26 June 2020, and the title track, released alongside the album on 7 August 2020.

Live performances

The band performed "Blur" live at Freo Social on 4 August 2020. Additionally, a national tour was announced alongside the album's announcement ( see below).

Critical reception

Writing for ''

NME Australia ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music journalism, music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine tha ...

'', journalist Alex Gallagher stated ''Tracing Faces'' "offers a fuller, more coherent picture of the captivating, sun-drenched guitar-pop they captured early on, richly textural while undeniably hooky and upbeat." He also wrote: "There's an earnestness to what Great Gable do that makes them difficult not to find charming, with singer Alex Whiteman's from-the-hip reflections on love, loss and mental health feeling like an authentic snapshot of a period in the band's lives." David Boyle of ''Radio 13'' praised the album as a "coming-of-age body of work" and stated ttakes you on a journey that is magical and mystical with enough surprises even for the most seasoned traveller to enjoy." He additionally compared it favourably to

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...

and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. ''Milky'' described the album as "a continued exploration of the sound the band have been building upon" and "an incredible showcase of each members' musicianship and talent". They additionally favourably compared the title track to 1960's psychedelic music.

Commercial performance

''Tracing Faces'' debuted and peaked at number 78 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

for the chart dated 17 August 2020, before dropping out of the Top 100 the following week. ''Tracing Faces'' additionally debuted and peaked at number 16 on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Albums Chart, and at number 4 on the ARIA Top 20 Vinyl Albums Chart.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alex Whiteman, Matt Preen, Chris Bye, Callum Guy,

, and Alex Henriksson. Note: For additional work user may have to select 'Search again' and then 'Enter a title:' &/or 'Performer:'

Personnel

Adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

Musicians

Great Gable * Alex Whiteman – vocals, writing * Matt Preen – guitar, writing * Chris Bye – bass guitar, writing * Callum Guy – drums, writing Other musicians *

– writing * Alex Henriksson – writing

Technical

* Alex Henriksson – production , mixing * Matt Corby – production * Matthew Neighbour – mixing

Tour

Great Gable announced a tour of Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in support of the album in May 2020, alongside the release of second single "Blur". The tour was originally scheduled to begin in April 2020, before being rescheduled to October and November 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, before being delayed indefinitely. The Australian leg of the tour will be performed in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Sydney

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, and Hobart, alongside

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

dates in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

and

Maroochydore Maroochydore ( ) is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was subdivided from the Cotton Tree reserve by Surveyor Thomas O'Connor in 1903. The land was acquired from William Pettigrew who had a timber de ...

(which were announced following the delay of the tour). The New Zealand leg of the tour will be performed in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. Perth producer Jamilla and Melbourne musician Velvet Bloom will feature as the support acts on the tour, with additional special guests yet to be announced.

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2020 debut albums Great Gable (band) albums Albums produced by Matt Corby Alternative Distribution Alliance albums Warner Music Australasia albums