STACK #189 Jul 2020

MUSIC FEATURE

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have been in bands together for a long time now – as soon as I hear an idea of Johnny’s that I like, I connect with it straight away.” And O’Dell heard much to like in the demos that Took was crafting in between roaming the cobbled streets of Auld Reekie, during which he’d choose the cream of Great Britain’s electronica as his soundtrack. You can hear the spectre of Underworld in stand-out Life Is A Game Of Changing, one of the tracks Took sent to Sydney all but completed. “That was written when he’d just moved to Edinburgh; he was just walking around kind of taking it all in, thinking about how much his life had changed recently,” O’Dell says. The succinctly-put, bittersweet

INTERVIEW

TOMMY O'DELL DMA'S Vocalist Tommy O’Dell explains that an electronic heart has always been pulsing somewhere underneath DMA’s warm, acoustic sound – and why it has now made its presence beautifully, brightly known on new album The Glow . Words ZKR S cotland and Australia: not the closest of nations, speaking both geographically (17,000 kilometres from capital to capital), and on the matter of time-zones (we’re nine hours ahead, again, capitally speaking). But this rift did little to stem the vigorous flow of musical exchange between DMA’s bandmembers Tommy O’Dell, Johnny Took, and Matt Mason, as they constructed the follow-up

DMA's L-R: Tommy O'Dell, Matt Mason, JohnnyTook

Read the full interview online at stack.com.au

to their acclaimed second album, 2018’s For Now. (Notably, For Now reached #5 on the Scottish charts – two places higher than on the band’s native ARIA chart.) “We’ve always written our music in a disjointed kind of way,” says vocalist O’Dell. “So for Johnny to send an idea from Edinburgh to Sydney, I didn’t find it too hard. Johnny and I

message (right there in the title) was one which the frontman could resonate with. “When I heard that demo, I sensed the uplifting feel to it as well, so I used my own experience to sing it in a way which brought it up in the song even better."

The Glow by DMA's is out July 10 via I OH YOU.

Available now at

GORDI Our Two Skins

OUT JULY 10

This intricate and stunning ten-track offering was born from a period of inner turmoil for Gordi, and chronicles an intense period of self-discovery. A triple j feature record, it features the songs Sandwiches, Aeroplane Bathroom, Volcanic and current single Unready . Out Now

GREY DAZE Amends Amends is the origin story of one of modern rock’s most recognizable voices, Chester Bennington (Linkin Park). Featuring Chester’s original re-mastered vocals, the album features appearances by Korn’s Brian“Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer, Paige Hamilton (Helmet), Chris Traynor (Bush, Helmet, Orange 9MM), LP, Jasen Rauch (Breaking Benjamin) and Ryan Shuck (Orgy). Out Now

Ltd. Ed. Blue Vinyl

THE STREETS None Of Us Are Getting Out Of This Life Alive