Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By The Tea Party, Warner Music Australia 2019.
The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band that has developed a strong following in Australia.
They’ve toured their home country on 21 occasions but they’ve also toured Australia 12 times, making us their second biggest market.
I think they are so popular here because they epitomize the pub-rock spirit that we are famous for.
The band is comprised of Jeff Martin, Jeff Burrows and Stuart Chatwood, who met as teenagers in Windsor, Ontario and came to the attention of the music media with the release of their self-titled debut album in 1991.
That album had overtones of psychedelic rock mixed with a heavy guitar-driven sound and it was produced by Jeff Martin, a process that he has continued to this day.
It was the release of the Splendor Solis album in Australia in 1994 – which was picked up by radio station Triple J – that started our love affair with the band.
The use of open tunings and goblet drums introduced an Indian feel and the single Save Me – which enjoyed an extended run in the charts – cemented their position as one of the bands of the year.
The Black River EP corresponds with a world tour of the same name that will bring the band back to our shores once again.
The track list is comprised of five new songs plus a cover of Led Zeppelin’s Out On The Tiles.
Front man Jeff Martin described the new single Way Way Down as a song that asks the question “how Far down must you go in order to understand and appreciate the will to ascend and be something better?”
The band’s career has been marked by the usual ups and downs that characterize the trajectories of most long-term bands, but they have survived and continue to produce music that inspires their loyal fans who still flock to their impressive live shows.
I hear that a new album is also in the pipeline.
