Jack Lee (from Sydney’s Beef Jerk) is just about to release his second solo album Trophy Life, out this June 27th via Osborne Again records, a killer local label spearheaded by Lachlan Denton (The Ocean Party).
Trophy Life delivers what you would expect if you are familiar with any of the bands
mentioned above, but that’s a good thing! 7 tracks of beautifully loose, laid back guitar pop that’s being championed by local bands like The Ocean Party, Ciggie Witch, and Andre.
In celebration of the release of Trophy Life, Jack has given us a track by track run down of the release. For more info on Jack Lee, or to get you hands on a copy of the album, visit the Osborne Again Bandcamp.
Mr Lee
This song (originally called ‘On a Cardboard Note’) was written by Randall Lee about my Dad and Mum in 1988 for their wedding at the end of that year.
At the time my mother dissected eyeballs as a medical researcher in Lidcombe but also worked for Michael Callaghan’s Redback Graphix. I like the line “she worked with eyes – which was bothering her artistically”. I chose to record this song for my parents – from a time before they had kids, when they were kids, before shit happened.
Captain Cook
Unlike the rest of the songs on this record this one is a bit old. I wrote it when I lived in Camperdown in 2011. I was pretty bored and miserable at the time.
I worked on William Street in Darlinghurst for a business directory company and ate lunch everyday at 7 Eleven. Later I tried to make it a bit of a commentary of how lots of my friends talk about leaving Australia because it’s too small. If you grow up and never leave small patches of a capital city in Australia… small European nations seem vast in comparison. But I think they meant something else by it.
Stories (The Cannanes Cover)
Undergraduates being refused entry to the RSL Clubs because they had holes in their cardigans.
This song was written by Stephen O’Neil (The Cannanes’ vocalist/ guitarist ). A couple of weeks ago Fran [Gibson] (The Cannanes bassist) told me how the song came to be written. Something about London. I can’t remember.
When I was 16 or 17 my friend and I got an older boy to buy us a case of Tooheys Extra Dry. He met us behind the scout hall on his BMX. It was Summer.
The next day I woke up in hospital from alcohol poisoning due to drinking too much alcohol. They didn’t give me anything for the hangover… I guess I deserved it. My mum made me play field hockey later that day.
Same Thing
I wrote this one in response to the ‘Dolewave’ scare of Feburary 2014.
Last Chiko Roll
We recorded this song again mainly because I didn’t have enough new stuff but also because the last album had lots of piss poor efforts on it.
Insects
This is a song about a friend of mine.
I’m Always Home
I somehow ended this album with a similarly ridiculous finale as the last album.
I hope this one is slightly less funny.
