The Wait has proven worthwhile for Australian duo Vika & Linda, with the duo’s first album in almost 20 years entering the ARIA charts at number two – second only to Lil Nas X’s hugely hyped Montero.
This is the third consecutive top two release for Vika & Linda, with last year’s career anthology Akilotoa entering the charts at number one – the first ever by an Australian female duo.
Just three months later, their gospel collection Sunday (The Gospel According To Iso), debuted at number two.
“It took us three times to make this record, it kept getting delayed,” Linda said in a statement.
“And we’ve been waiting 19 years to make this record…Waiting for more songs. Waiting for the right opportunity.”
Their first album since 2002’s Love Is Mighty Close, the Bull sisters gave fans a taste of the album with the first two singles: the country-tinged ‘Raise Your Hand’ (with Kasey Chambers and Brandon Dodd) and the blues-rock inspired ‘My Heart Is In The Wrong Place’ (with Ben Salter).
They celebrated the release of the album earlier this month with a teaser of ‘Lover Don’t Keep Me Waiting,’ penned by Chris Cheney from The Living End.
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Produced by Steven Schram and Cameron Bruce, The Wait features the talents of some of Australia’s most prolific songwriters, including Don Walker, Glenn Richards, Chris Cheney, Bernard Fanning, Kasey Chambers & Brandon Dodd, Ben Salter, Paul Kelly, Neil Murray & Matt Walker, Mick Thomas & Jemma Rowlands, and emerging talent Eva Seymour.
As Double J put it – “this is what happens when the country’s best songwriters pen tunes for the country’s best vocalists.”
The sisters have discussed their stellar career in Mushroom Podcast’s Some of My Best Work, with music and culture journalist Jane Rocca this week.
They open up about everything from meeting Paul Kelly for the first time at the Brisbane Expo in 1988 to co-writing ’99 Years’ with him.
They also discuss touring and recording with Peter Gabriel, and collaborating with Iggy Pop after Iggy and Johnny Depp materialised in their dressing room at a festival.
Linda recalls on the podcast how the late, great Michael Gudinski came to the sisters’ defence when the head of another label told him they would never do better than a gold album.
“That was an early example to me of what it’s like to take on someone like him and the power that you have when he’s in your corner,” she said.
“Because he said to me, once: ‘You know, you look around the MCG, Linda, that’s how many records you’ve sold when it’s full.’ And I just thought, Wow!”
Vika & Linda will be touring in November with their band.
Watch: Vika & Linda ‘My Heart Is In The Wrong Place’
