Suffering Jukebox

This morning's episode features an interview with multidisciplinary didgeridoo player and composer, William Barton. Predominately knows for his work in the classical realm, Barton also creates within the genres of traditional and experimental music. A frequent collaborator, his latest project, Under In Between, features Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance) and Cye Wood. Under In Between make their debut at this year's Dark Mofo festival in Hobart, with an album to be released later this year and (hopefully) more shows in the pipeline. Find out more about William (and how to purchase his music) here https://www.williambarton.com.au/

Being Reconiliation Week, the majority of this morning's playlist comprises music made by First Nations artists.First Nations listeners are advised that this show contains recording sof individuals who are now deceased.

Nick's Pick of the Week is Thalia Zedek band's The Boat Outside Your Window. You can hear the whole album in all the usual places, or purchase it here https://thaliazedek.bandcamp.com/album/the-boat-outside-your-window and my review can be read below.

Thalia Zedek Band: The Boat Outside Your Window (Thrill Jockey)

Released 23rd May 2025

Thalia Zedek is one of alternative music’s true unsung heroes. A veteran of the underground, she has spent a lifetime playing with groups such as Live Skull, Come and E , as well as releasing solo albums under her own name and with the Thalia Zedek Band. Although Most of her releases have been critically lauded, true success has proved elusive. Similar to her Come bandmate, Chris Brokaw, Zedek is somewhat of a “musician’s musician.” She belongs to a cohort of musical lifers from the pre and post grunge generation who maintain moderate but dedicated audiences that allow them to continue to release music on their own terms.

Returning with a re-jigged lineup for their first album since 2021’s Perfect Vision, The Boat Outside Your Window sees the Thalia Zedek Band lose violist Dave Curry and pianist Mel Lederman, whilst adding Karen Sarkisian on pedal steel —bassist Winston Braman and drummer Gavin McCarthy remain, alongside Zedek on guitar and vocals. Sarkisian’s pedal steel replaces the mournfulness of Curry’s viola, with a gentler sense of melancholy; a tonal shift that is evident across much of the record. Where Perfect Vision and (its 2018 predecessor) Fighting Season were more abrasive and outward looking, The Boat Outside Your Window is far more introspective, with Zedek turning her songwriter’s gaze inward to focus more upon herself than on the world at large.

Fittingly titled, four of The Boat Outside Your Window’s songs (Tsunami, Boat, Dissolve and Under Weather) reference water or nautical themes that cut through the album like an undercurrent. For example, “Holding on / fighting like a drowning man / Pulls us down / while we try to keep our heads above” from Tsunami and “I’m seasick, I’m so thick, I couldn’t see, my breath was clouding everything / While I was trying to steer clear, you were floating away in fear,” from Under Weather.

Musically, Zedek’s guitar is the driving force of the album. She has a singular style that is instantly recognisable —though hard to replicate— and on The Boat Outside Your Window she is in fine form indeed. Aliyah, propelled by an abruptly strummed chord pattern, is an exercise in building and releasing tension, elsewhere Disarm’s jagged, post-punk riff harkens back to her days in Live Skull; demonstrating that, when required, Zedek’s playing can still be as caustic as ever.

The Boat Outside Your Window may be more restrained than anything in Zedek’s recent discography, but despite this tonal shift, it still lacks none of the urgency of her past works. Her vocals are softer, gentler even, allowing more space for her words and emphasising their weight in the process. Trading raw power for quiet strength, on The Boat Outside Your Window Zedek showcases the mellower side to her personality, whilst demonstrating that her songwriting can still be as compelling as ever.

Nick Stephan