Description
Indie folk for modern times.
Faces in the Street are an Australian Indie Folk trio born of the Keynes Brothers in Naarm/Melbourne. Their substantial back catalogue of original songs brings together vocal harmonies within a haunting soundscape of acoustic and electric instrumentation.
Faces in the Street is an Australian Indie Folk trio born of the Keynes Brothers in Naam/Melbourne.
The Keynes Brothers were founded by John Fraser (vocals/guitar) & Rowan Cole (vocals/mandolin/guitar/mandola) who draw their inspiration from folk, rock, and country blues and have developed an extensive catalogue of co-written songs that explore life’s challenges, the human condition and the power of hope and perseverance.
In late 2024, the duo were joined by John Zak (bass/guitar/synth) bringing progressive country, swamp blues & latin jazz influences to the sound.
The name Faces In The Street is derived from a poem by Henry Lawson which depicts the faces of the poor & the marginalized in a city, revealing the harsh realities of urban life as portrayed in the following verse:
“I left the dreadful corner where the steps are never still,
And sought another window overlooking gorge and hill;
But when the night came dreary with the driving rain and sleet,
They haunted me – the shadows of those faces in the street,
Flitting by, flitting by,
Flitting by with noiseless feet,
And with cheeks but little paler than the real ones in the street.”
See the entire poem here.
This sentiment is reflected in many of the Band’s musical stories offered in a haunting acoustic and electric soundscape.
Faces in the Street are an Indie Folk trio with decades of combined experience across a range of genre and influences, but what exactly is Indie Folk?
Well now Wikipedia defines Indie Folk as “an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation”, so you could start there.
Faces in the Street – Bring Back Tomorrow
CD review by Tony Smith
TN2572-88 – $20
This Melbourne band consists of John Fraser (lead vocals and guitar), Rowan Cole (vocals, mandolin and lead guitar) and John Zak (bass and guitar).
There are also contributions from Cameron McKenzie on various instruments and Cath Rutten, who provides additional vocals.
They dedicate the album to late friend, mentor and guitar teacher, Roger.
McKenzie also recorded most of the tracks at Station PL Studios, Glenhuntly.
‘Old to new’ was produced by Craig Newman at Dewey Studios, Moorabbin.
The almost entirely monochrome cover shows the three men in silhouette, so they are indeed faceless.
No doubt the band’s name is an acknowledgement of the powerful Henry Lawson poem of that name, which says that it is a lie that there is no want in this land.
Of the ten tracks, all were written by Fraser and Cole, but they share the credits with M.Munson for ‘it’s not me’.
The other tracks are ‘bring back tomorrow’, ‘hope’, ‘lifters and leaners’, ‘time machine’, ‘hope you’re ok’, ‘house falling down’, ‘it’s for free’, ‘old to new’ and ‘together’.
The use of lower case for the song titles is perhaps a further gesture of humility.
Two of the trio displayed a sense of humour when they formed the Keynes Brothers.
They chose that name because they are fond of worn out economic theories.
There are very sweet harmonies on the title track especially.
Comparison with Crowded House springs to mind.
The mandolin, both when backing and leading instrumental breaks, is always better than good.
The R.E.M. mandolin did not reach these heights.
The bass is strong throughout, but especially on ‘it’s for free’ and ‘old to new’.
The arrangements are attractive and appropriate and show the band can handle minor as well as major keys.
The sleeve includes full lyrics, but they are hardly needed as Fraser’s diction is clear and his timing and phrasing spot on.
This is important, because the words of the songs are sometimes very effective indeed.
There is strong advice in ‘it’s for free’:
‘if you want it to return/ when you give love away/ you’ve got to let it come back/ in its own way’.
You cannot force someone to love you.
‘it’s from me/ it’s for free/ i have no expectations’.
True love does not come with strings attached.
When I looked at the printed lyrics, I wondered how they would fit the rhythms, but Fraser’s phrasing, while sometimes surprising, is always perfect.
The band’s social critique is strong but not strident.
At times they reminded me of Redgum.
‘it’s a strange, strange world we live in, whispered cries an unheard call’.
And ‘they chose to watch society fall, they took it all, and then they reached for more, with corporations there’s no need for war, what armies could not do’.
And they note the irony of the situation and the depth of denial.
The protest is plain in ‘we live in a jungle but it’s not fun … this isn’t my story’.
The social debilitation is clear: ‘you can talk about the weather … keep things safe, you can stick to AFL … safer words we try to use’.
Faces in the Street deserve wider recognition.
Their lyrics are strong and their presentation of them shows highly skilled musicianship.
Bring Back Tomorrow is a very mature album indeed.
