13th Floor Video Premiere! Damien Binder – Crazy
Perth-based songwriter Damien Binder follows up the success of last year’s album Bright Side with ‘Crazy’, the first single from his forthcoming new EP, distributed by Big Pop Digital.
Brand new…here is the first look at Damien’s new video!
Since Damien Binder‘s self-titled debut in the early 2000’s, the APRA Silver Scroll nominated artist has released five acclaimed solo albums. The most recent, Bright Side, was featured in Rolling Stone Australia and NZ Musician and received a glowing 8.9 star review from Backseat Mafia.
“Like a museum of sonic treasures, Bright Side collates Binder’s enticing releases under one roof, unearthing a few more delights and in the process delivering one of the strongest and most cohesive releases of the year.” – Backseat Mafia
Prior to pursuing his solo career, Binder fronted New Zealand rock band Second Child who shot to fame with their 90s albums Magnet and Slinky and appeared on NZ TV shows Max TV and Juice TV.
Second Child took the stage at the Auckland stop of the Big Day Out (1996) and played supports with the likes of The Jesus and Mary Chain, Hunters & Collectors, Nirvana, Fugazi and The Rollins Band. As a solo artist, Binder has supported some of the world’s leading international acts including David Gray, Marianne Faithfull and Ani Di Franco.
At the heart of the Bright Side album were Binder’s world class songs of melodic and optimistic modern rock and he’s taken that momentum and the highly successful blend of his writing/performing and the mixing/production of Matt Gio (Rudimental, San Cisco, Birds of Tokyo), and carried it through to his forthcoming new EP and the first single ‘Crazy‘.
With its choppy riffs and swinging feel, ‘Crazy’ (premiered exclusively by Backseat Mafia) brings to mind Spoon, 78-81 era Stones & early Sheryl Crow, combined with the timeless pop songwriting of Neil Finn and the modern production approach of an artist such as Beck.
“‘Crazy’ is a compassionate reminder that you’re not what you do, you’re enough as you are,” Binder explains. “The song was Inspired by watching a young person cracking under the weight of career expectations and the pressure to get it right before they had even hit their teens.” he reveals.
Upbeat and infectious, ‘Crazy’ heralds the start of another new chapter in the career of Binder, an artist who has been constantly exploring and refining his songwriting craft across three decades.
SINGLE CREDITS
written by Damien Binder
Damien Binder – vocals & guitar
Matt Gio – bass, drums & keyboards
Dan Carroll (from WA’s Southern River Band) – guitars
Produced by Matt Gio @ Rada Recording Studios, Fremantle WA
Mastered by William Bowden @ King Willy Studios, Launceston TAS
Artwork by Mark Roach
Photos by Bridget Julie-Anne Photography
‘Crazy’ is out now digitally via Bandcamp, streaming services and Amrap for our community friends across Australia and New Zealand.
PRESS
“Ultimately Binder is a master pop technician… able to weave the brilliant bright skies and rolling landscapes of Western Australia into every note: a wandering ambulant sound that seems to reflect the endless open horizons like fellow Western Australian residents, The Triffids and his homeland natives, The Chills.”
Backseat Mafia
“The earlier part of the song also gives me the feels of ‘Streets of Philadelphia’, which also isn’t a bad thing. This is a track that captivates on first listen. Binder is an artist who is meticulous in his artistry. It has a warm embrace of melancholia. The accompanying video fits like a glove, with its futuristic feel and deft contrast of light and shade and constant movement.”
the AU review on ‘Everything But’
“This is a collection of little gems.”
★★★½ – Sydney Morning Herald on A New World
“Damien Binder is one of those smart songwriters because he walks a pleasing line between the singer-songwriter genre and a smattering of power pop. He writes songs which in a better world would find themselves all over radio.”
Graham Reid Elsewhere
“On A New World Binder looks to ’80s English jangle-pop and Aussie indie for his template. Parallels with Commotions, The Go-Betweens, The Church and The Triffids are obvious…”
The 13th Floor
“Reigniting the candle of ’80s jangle-pop is New Zealand-born songwriter Damien Binder. Binder’s A New World takes classic indie-acoustic styles of old and blends them with a hefty dose of Britpop flair. The album parallels such bands as The Go-Betweens and The Church, but also branches out with stylistic nods to the likes of Jarvis Cocker and Ron Sexsmith.”
★★★½ – The Music
