*'Flipside' Candle Compilation - 2004
'Shifting Sands' Remixed By Hydroplane



Album Tracks - Real Audio
*Shifting Sands from 'Shifting Sands' 7" Vinyl
*Sirens from 'The Closest People'
*Ecstatic from 'Scenes From A Midday Movie'
*Far From Ordinary from 'Caravan Park Girlfriend'

The Closest People
Heart versus Mind. ‘The Closest People’ explores the emotional and mental journey of relationships, and delivers it in the form of a fantastic pop record. 10 stories that are up close and personal with all The Mabels trademarks - great songs, fine arrangements and catchy melodies. A strong narrative travels throughout the album with characters and themes constantly reoccurring. At times innocent and intense, and at others joyous and universal.

‘A Sporting Declaration’ opens the album using sporting metaphors to relate to a partner. Suburbia and the inner city are celebrated in ‘The Suburb In Between’. The stark and honest ‘I’ve Decided’ is as much about revelation as realization.

The middle trilogy of reflective songs starts with ‘White Walls, Quiet Halls’ and forms the heart and soul of the album. The string laden ‘White Walls’ takes the listener and the character to faraway places. ‘Sirens’ is a change of space and has the band at its most poignant. The epic ‘Lovers Time’ finishes the trilogy, with the heartstrings firmly pulled.

‘The Streets Of Brisbane’ completes the albums' journey with a tale of a long distance relationship with The Mabels at their simple naïve best. All in all, the album delivers what a great pop record should – music to enjoy and lyrics to make you think. Heart versus Mind. The winner is ‘The Closest People’. Recorded in the hills of the Dandenongs, Victoria, ‘The Closest People’ is the second album for The Mabels and finds them in top form.

History
The Mabels began as a folkie trio from Lismore and over the last two years have become a more significant pop band based in Melbourne.

Original members Kim Parker, Warwick Lobb and Anthony Atkinson experimented with a couple of drummers before meeting David Kneale late in 1996. Five months later the band released an E.P entitled Caravan Park Girlfriend produced by Michael Thomas from Weddings Parties Anything.

The six-tracker was recorded in Mick’s Back bungalow in the heat of the Australia day long weekend.The laid back feel of the recording process is reflected in the folk tinged, almost naive sound of the songs. The roots and acoustic influence on the band is most noticeable on this recording with vocal harmonies also a feature.

Since the release of the E.P the Mabels have been working away in Melbourne as well touring up the east coast with label mates The Simpletons and The Lucksmiths.

After the release of Caravan Park Girlfriend the band delivered their debut long player entitled ‘Scenes from a Midday Movie’. The album was recorded at Happy Valley studios in Melbourne with the assistance of Darren Hanlon (ex-Simpletons). The album featured songs that have been in their live set for a while (Sitting in a Cyclone, 44 Reasons for Leaving, Seasoned Forgiver) as well newer tunes (Tennis Players Girlfriends and Everything’s Different). In addition, the smooth vocal tones of bass player Kim Parker are pushed to the fore for the sad country sound of ‘Small Town Charity Queen’.

'Scenes' tilts it hat at past influences and it is probably more guitar based then the E.P with a more mature sound overall. Lyrically the usual personal stuff is covered from relationships both hurtful and helpful, as well as made up stuff thrown in about stale stages and tragic cases.

The Mabels released their second album 'The Closest People' mid-2000. The CD was self assured leap forward, full of great pop songs including 'White Walls, Quiet Halls' & 'Sirens'. The Mabels Duo (Anthony & Kim) did a 12 show tour of the USA in late 2000.

'Scenes' Review by Chris Crouch from Candle Records
"It’s been over 6 years since Atko, Lobby and Kimba got together under the guise of The Troubadours. So to have finally put out their debut album in 1998 has been a long wait, but well worth it.

This album is great record. It’s full of life, confidence and fantastic songs. A sign of a good record is the difficulty of pigeon holing what it sounds like, here is a case in point. The new songs and things you don’t expect from a band make it all worthwhile. It shows all the Mabels wares without being too flashy. Their trademarks are all here, the great songs, fantastic harmonies, the personal and universal stories. A great feature is the capture of Anthony’s unique voice sounding as good as ever.

The album kicks off with ‘44 Reasons’, a straight ahead pop song that highlights Anthony’s ability to write outside his life experiences. The opening track quickly establishes a common thread throughout the disc - Warwick Lobb’s superb guitar playing. Sure he’s renowned for being a multi-instrumentalist, but on this record he comes into his own as a guitarist.

‘Tennis Players’ Girlfriends’, another fine pop moment shows the lighter side of the band, which includes some backing vocals from Darren Hanlon. Darren who used to play guitar in The Simpletons, produced this CD and it has his fingerprints all over it - including Warwick’s sweet guitar work.

‘Sitting In A Cyclone’ completes the opening pop trilogy. The song has been a regular staple of The Mabels live set and recorded it comes up a treat. ‘Ecstatic’ diverts from the pop formula. Here they do the twist on the love ballad theme so well. The quieter moments on the CD like this song highlight how good a drummer Dave Kneale is. Fans of ‘Far From Ordinary’ from The Mabels EP will love this track.

What makes this record so strong is its middle section. Here the band takes a different route to their pop sensibilities and show off their new tracks. Without a doubt the next 3 tracks are the ‘growers’ of the album, but after a few listens the melodies are here to stay for a long time.

‘By The River’ is one of my favourite tracks. A haunting song which introduces pedal steel guitar to the album. It’s used so well, but not to countrify the track rather to make it more ethereal, working alongside Kim Parker’s fantastic backing vocals. ‘Everything’s Different’ shows how far band has come and where it’s going.

For a change of space the Mabels deliver ‘Filipino Bride’, stripped back with just electric guitar, vocals and Kim’s fine accordion. It echoes with history and could easily have been a workers anthem from another era. The use of banjo at the end of the song is an inspired touch.

‘Season Forgiver’ is a nod back to the Mabels core. One feels Anthony could write a song like this in his sleep only because he does it so well.

‘Redeemed’ harks back to another time. It’s the Mabels at their most poppiest. Again something different from the rest of the album that fits perfectly with what’s going around it. Here they play around with song structure and guitar sounds that still sound fresh even after the 20th listen.

Kim Parker steps out on her own, taking lead vocals duties on the fragile ‘Small Town Charity Queen.’ Not a male voice to be heard. A tale soaked in pedal steel telling the dilemmas of keeping a small towns football team satisfied.

‘The Last Photo’ completes the journey. You sense there’s been a death nearby with such a solemn track concluding such a joyous album. But that’s what the Mabels have achieved with their debut, an album that delivers what you would expect from them and then things you could never guessed of.

Apart from his superb drumming, Dave also knocks up some fresh original artwork that accompanies the album. All in all a great, self assured debut album filled with lyrical pop gems - what more could you want. I’ve raved enough about it, but that’s what great albums make you want to do. Wait to you hear it!!!"

For album and live reviews check out the Lyrics/Reviews section.

Popular Mabels Song Poll
Thanks to everyone that voted for their favourite Mabels song. Here’s the list according to your votes:

1. Ecstatic (from ‘Scenes From A Midday Movie’)
2. Caravan Park Girlfriend (from ‘CPG’ ep)
3. The Letter Song (Anthony Atkinson solo tape)
4. Sitting In A Cyclone (from ‘Scenes’)
5. Far From Ordinary (from ‘CPG’ ep)