August saw the release of Dustin Tebbutt’s highly-anticipated debut album First Light, three years after his breakthrough EP The Breach – and it’s been a fruitful time in between.
It was thanks to a huge following on SoundCloud that Tebbutt came to the attention of Eleven Music’s John Watson, resulting in his signing a deal with the label and joining a small but mighty roster that includes the likes of Gotye, Missy Higgins, Birds of Tokyo, and Daniel Johns.
The song that started it all, ‘The Breach’, displays a heavy influence of Bon Iver, the acoustic guitar, angelic falsetto, and catchy melody making the song an immediate hit. It went on to reach number 44 in the 2013 hottest 100, and has since amassed over 22 million streams on Spotify. The Breach EP was certified Gold in Australia, and earned Tebbutt a J Award nomination.
After The Breach, Tebbutt spent two years living in Sweden, working, writing and recording material that would eventually become his 2015 mini album Home. The Scandinavian winter was clearly an inspirational time for the singer and, after a national tour in support of Home, work began on what would become First Light.
The album is ten tracks written, produced, and recorded by Tebbutt in a studio he built at the back of his parents Newcastle home, with only occasional outside help. Producer John Castle (Meagan Washington, Vance Joy) lends his production skills to the galloping ‘Still In My Heart’, whilst Gang of Youths’ David Le’aupepe co-writes ‘Give Me Tonight’, a clear standout and the most electronic moment on the record.
Unlike his debut EP, which was inspired by a breakup, First Light is about falling in love and shift in perspective that this causes. As Tebbutt explains “I met a girl, and over time she unlocked song after song until she’d inspired a whole album.”
The title track, and first single, is a near to perfect indie pop song. Similar to Vance Joy’s ‘Riptide’, it is a song seemingly destined to be flogged on commercial radio, as well as a host of TV promos and advertising. However, before the song gets ruined by overexposure, it is worth enjoying for its beauty in simplicity – telling a story of love and longing – and perfectly sets the tone of the songs to come, both musically and lyrically.
The opening verse is full of new love and longing, Tebbutt singing “I’m looking up, to where these stars still shine for you/I’m looking up, beyond a crescent moon/I’m looking up, for a way to bring you home/’Cause I’m lost without you.” The percussion drives the song forward, a fingerpicked acoustic guitar provides the melody, the chimes in the chorus a perfect accompaniment to the wonderful falsetto vocals.
Second single ‘Wooden Heart’ share similarities with ‘First Light’, certainly in its lyrical content, full of stargazing longing, Tebbutt confesses to his lady love in the chorus “And as the stars come out tonight/I still think of you.” Musically it is more upbeat, the drums propel the song forward, a three chord stop/start guitar riff present throughout most of the song.
Whilst the album never strays too far from folk laced indie pop, there are suggestions throughout of wider influences. ‘Give Me Tonight’ finds Tebbutt’s voice with a little more aggression, somewhat resembling City and Colour’s Dallas Green. The layered synth lines and electronic sounds build the song to a point that is a close to a loud crescendo as First Light gets.
‘In Too Deep’ finds the falsetto replaced by heavily reverbed vocals, the beautiful and sparse piano provides most of the melody, the drums more conventional, rather than just providing percussive colour like on most of the album. The sound deliberately conveying a sense of falling, perhaps a little fearfully, in love; “I’m in too deep, with you, and I’m in trouble.”
The vocals in ‘See Your Gold’ finds Tebbutt channelling Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, a soft piano like a ticking clock providing forward momentum. Another example of beauty in simplicity, the line, “I see your gold, through the shadows” is repeated, a plucked harpsichord making way for a louder electric guitar line towards the end. Closing track is the reflectively titled instrumental ‘I Only Have Good Memories (Of You), the song full of percussion and repetitive keyboard lines, some electric guitar noodling providing the songs melody.
There is certainly a star gazing theme on the album, with title’s like ‘Hewlett’s Comet’ and ‘Brighter Than The Sun’. Perhaps the combination of new love and distance found Tebbutt looking to the sky for inspiration, and it certainly seemed to work.
Sonically there isn’t a great deal of variation from on the album, and whilst there is a large array of instruments present, most songs are based around an acoustic guitar and vocals. Repeat listens do begin to reveal more complex layers, but it’s Tebbutt’s beautiful voice and gift for melody that really make this record special, irrespective of the complexity of arrangement. The fact that First Light was mostly self-produced shows a level of maturity in song writing and pop sensibility that is a rare commodity, especially on a debut.
Dustin Tebbutt has just finished up a national tour in support of the release of First Light, with multiple shows in Melbourne and Sydney selling out. He’ll take a short break before heading back out on the road in October and November supporting Bernard Fanning on his Civil Dusk tour.
